A Black Rose by Any Other Name
by Shapesnatch
Summary: The descendants of Team 5D's and their friends are ready to defend New Domino from the forces of evil. But can they beat them?
1. Ch1: A New Rose Blooms

**For those of you kind enough to click on this story, you have my thanks. I don't kind constructive criticism but I will not tolerate flames. Also if I create any cards feel free to use them so long as you ask me first.**

**In terms of names I'll be using the Dubbed names, mostly, so long as they aren't terrible I don't really mind them, and I'm Canadian eh. I'll also be using the TCG names, unless they totally suck like well what they did to poor Saviour Star Dragon.**

**Other than playing by Traditional Format I will follow the rules of the OCG and TCG to the letter, and I'll try to avoid using the anime version of Card of Sanctity, unless absolutely necessary.**

**Sorry if I'm rambling and so begins A Black Rose by Any Other Name.**

New Domino City, once called by the former director of Sector Security to be a utopia, but was that true? Well for the five Signers it was anything but.

After defeating the Dark Signers and saving the world, they breathed a sigh of relief and tried to go on with their lives. But three mysterious persons appeared and began a dark plan. In the end these three were defeated and their evil Machine Emperor cards reduced to ashes.

So the Signers once again started to move on with their lives. Yusei Fudo and Akiza Izinski settled down and got married. Jack Atlas and his girlfriend Carly Carmine also got married, even before Yusei and Akiza.

Crow Hogan and his delivery business Blackbird Delivery eventually became the largest delivery company in all of New Domino and Japan.

Luna and her brother Leo who seemed to almost share the same position as hind claw Signer both graduated from Duel Academy, Luna in the top of her class, Leo he just graduated. Luna went on to become a teacher, instructing the younger students at Duel Academy.

Leo went on to join the Junior Leagues and after much blood, sweat, tears and hard work he managed to move up to the Pro Leagues, which seemed to surprise the other Signers.

It has been twenty years since the Signers and Leo hung up their Duel Disks to be used to smite evil, they've settled down but something they were never told, was evil never truly dies.

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter One: A New Rose Blooms.

In an office building in New Domino a long figure sat in a pitch black office, the only source of illumination came from the computer screen the person was sitting in front of.

Their face was hidden by the glare from the screen. They dragged their mouse over to a folder and double clicked, a moment later the folder opened.

There were six documents in the folder, they clicked on one of them opening it. A picture appeared on the screen, it was a Duel Monsters card, with a white background, the card image was of a white Dragon with blue markings on it and an elongated head.

"Stardust Dragon, currently in the possession of Yusei Fudo, it possesses an extremely useful effect but for its level it has low attack points," the figure muttered before opening another document.

This one brought up another card, this one ressembled a bird crossed with a Dragon, with large wings with what looked like blade shaped black feathers. "Blackfeather Dragon, currently owned by Crow Hogan, it possesses a potent anti burn and point lowering effect, not truly suited for Mr. Hogan's Deck, but he's managed to use it well."

They clicked another document bringing up the picture of a serpentine Dragon with blue scales, wearing a red mask and red bracers in its arms. "Ancient Fairy Dragon, it resides in the hands of Luna the youngest of the Signers, again for her Deck type it is not well suited, but she rarely duels herself," the person said.

They clicked another document bringing up the picture of a black scaled Dragon with most of its body covered in rose petals and two thorny black vines sprouting from its back. "Black Rose Dragon, it was formally owned by the Black Rose Witch, Akiza Fudo formally Izinski. It now rests in the hands of her and Yusei's seventeen year old daughter Reina."

At the same time the person was looking up files on the Signer's Dragons, four teenagers were in Muto Memorial Park. Two of them were dueling and two of them were sitting on a bench nearby.

The two dueling were both boys, one of them had messy orange hair with dark brown eyes, and he was donned in an orange blazer with a red t-shirt underneath, he wore a pair of khaki cargo pants with a belt with two Deck boxes on the back.

His opponent had silver hair and light green eyes and had a bored expression on his face. He wore a black jacket with a white t-shirt underneath. He wore a pair of blue jeans.

Near to them were two girls, one was sitting on a bench watching the duel with a video camera on. She had shoulder length brown hair and seemingly large hazel eyes. She wore a plain white blouse and a denim skirt.

The last person had black hair, with five blade shaped bangs hanging over her forehead, each bang had a thin dark violet line running along it, he eyes with light brown and she wore a red trench coat with a red shirt underneath with the picture of a stylized black rose on the front.

The raven haired girl sneezed. "Are you getting a cold Reina?" the video camera holding girl asked.

The other girl sniffled "No I don't think so Mel," she replied.

"Maybe someone's talking about ya," the other girl said with a slight snicker.

"Hmmm so who do you think is going to win, Zeke or Rob?" Reina asked.

"I'd bet Rob for sure, for once he actually got Zeke backed into a corner," Mel replied.

The silver haired boy currently had 1000 Life Points and held four cards, he had two face down cards on the field but he had no monsters.

The other boy had had 1500 Life Points and two monsters one was a humanoid bird creature holding a black drill shaped spear. The other one was a larger humanoid bird creature with grey feathers. He had a face single down card.

"Ok Zeke, revenge time Elphin go in for a direct attack!" the orange haired boy shouted and the grey feathered creature flew forward.

"Sorry Rob but I activate one of my face down cards, go A Hero Emerges!" Zeke declared and a Trap card showing a superhero jumping forward flipped open.

"You know how this works now you pick one of the cards in my hand and should it be a monster, I get to Special Summon it. So Rob pick your poison," Zeke smirked.

Rob growled "Fine middle right."

"Good choice, for me," chuckled Zeke, "I think you remember my Vilepawn Archfiend, well he'll be coming out in defense mode," a creature with exposed muscle and bone armor, with a sword in place of one hand appeared crouching in a defensive manor. (ATK 1200/DEF 200)

Elphin stopped as if uncertain and looked back at Rob. "Elphin continue your attack!" the bird creature continued forward, but Zeke's other face down card flipped open.

"Reveal face down card, Hate Buster. Now Elphin and Vilepawn bite the dust and you get hit for Elphin's original attack points in damage," Vilepawn pulled an odd looking bomb out from behind its back.

When Elphin got close the bomb detonated taking out both monsters, the shockwave from the blast hit Rob knocking him on his rear and causing his Life Points to drop to zero.

Rob groaned "Damn it! Every freaking time you beat me Zeke, how?"

"Simple Rob, I'm the better duelist between us that's why," Zeke smirked.

"One of these days Zeke Kessler I will defeat you I swear it on my namesake's grave!" Rob declared dramatically.

"Right, Rob and my dad and mom with become Dark Signers again, face it you will never defeat me," Zeke grinned.

Zeke's father had returned to New Domino after the mine in Satisfaction Town collapsed. After that he, with the help of two kids from the former town, West and Nico had set up a large charity organization, it was designed to support orphanages around the globe.

"So girls where should we go to eat since Robert here is the one footing the bill?" Zeke asked.

Both girls rubbed their chins. "Well let's see we could go to that really fancy place about three blocks from here," Reina suggested and Rob looked shocked.

"Ya, except one small detail I doubt we meet the dress code," Mel said. "How about we just go to that burger place across the street," she said pointing to a small stand on the other side of the road.

"Ya, Melissa that's a good idea, let's go there!" Rob shouted jumping to his feet.

Both Zeke and Reina snickered. "Sure sounds fine to me," Zeke said.

As the group walked away they didn't realize someone had been watching them. He was tall with grey hair and slate coloured eyes, in a pair of camouflage coloured pants and combat boots, with a tan shirt. "I see 'em boss what should I do?"

The person was speaking into a cell phone "Well Morton why don't you challenge one of them to a duel, like I've planned," a voice on the other side suggested.

"Sounds good boss, call ya when I crush one of them," the person said snapping the phone shut.

Twenty minutes later the group was sitting outside of the burger stand, Reina was sipping a milkshake, Rob had just finished some onion rings, Melissa was looking over the footage of the duel, and Zeke was stuffing his face.

"Zeke, I've seen starving people who eat slower than you, slow down or you're going to choke," Rob said.

Zeke finished his burger and balled up the wrapper. "That's what his fifth?" Reina asked.

"No I think it's his sixth," Melissa said not looking up from her camera.

"Ya that sounds about right, well I'm going to go get another," Zeke said standing with Reina following behind.

The pair walked over to the stand and Zeke made his order, a moment later a girl handed him his food on a tray. He nodded and they began to walk back to their spot.

"How can you possibly eat so much?" Reina asked.

Zeke just shrugged. "I'm a health growing boy," he answered.

"Zeke it cannot be healthy to eat that much fast food, you've had five burgers and six sets of fries, how you don't gain any weigh is beyond me, hell I doubt my dad would understand it," Reina muttered.

Just then Morton walked out and shoved Zeke knocking the tray out of his hand, causing it to spilling it over his shirt. "Hey you jerk watch where you're walking!" Zeke shouted.

"What's you're problem you silver haired freak?" Morton asked.

"You just spilled my food, if I was the one paying for it I'd be really pissed," Zeke growled.

"It's just food Zeke and don't forget Rob's paying the bill so you can just get another order," Reina told her friend and Zeke nodded.

"He should still apologize, especially for wasting perfectly good food," Zeke muttered and a large drop of sweat rolled down the back of Reina's head.

"How about this, I'll make you a deal, if you're friend can beat me in a duel, I'll apologize and pay for the same order I just ruined. If I win then you have to pay for my lunch, sound fair," Morton proposed pointing to Reina.

"Sounds fair," Zeke told him. Reina walked over to her Duel Runner and detached the Duel Disk from the console and attached it to her Wrist Dealer.

"Mind telling me your name plus I'd like to add something to our wager?" Reina asked.

"Fine, my name is Morton Gothwalt, and what would this addition be?" Morton inquired.

"Simple," Reina said glancing behind Morton. Standing a ways off was a girl with black hair, in a green shirt and jeans holding a note pad. "If I win you'll answer I question for me."

"Fine that isn't much I won't even ask anything in return," Morton replied as his and Reina's Duel Disks auto shuffled.

**(Reina: 8000) ---- (Morton: 8000)**

"Duel!" they both shouted.

"Since last I checked it was the gentlemanly thing to do, I hope you don't mind if I take the first turn?" Reina asked drawing her first five cards.

"I don't really care you'll need it," Morton smirked.

"_Ok now I'm sure he's working for Josh, especial since I can see Alexandria spying on this duel. Well then I'll have to make sure I don't use too many of the cards I've added since our last duel,"_ Reina thought.

"I'll set a monster face down and then end with a single face down card," Reina said as a horizontal monster and a single brown backed card appeared in front of her.

"You call that an opening move? My little cousin could make a better opening move," Morton laughed pulling his sixth card off the top of his Deck.

"I activate the Spell card the Allied Force, now for each Warrior or Spellcaster I control Warrior type monsters on my side of the field gain 200 points," he said as the Spell card materialized.

"Now I summon my Marauding Captain in attack mode!" a man with blond hair in plate armor wielding two swords jumped onto the field. (ATK 1200-1400/DEF 400)

"Now thanks to his effect I can call out a level four or lower monster from my hand, so come forth Command Knight," a woman in red armor appeared next to Marauding Captain and drew her sword. (ATK 1200-1600/DEF 1900) (ATK 1400-1600/DEF 400)

"Now thanks to her effect….." Morton began before he was cut off.

"I know all Warrior monsters on your side gain 400 attack points, plus as long as you control another monster I may not select her as an attack target, she's kind of a staple in Warrior Decks, I've seen her a million times," Reina explained. (ATK 1600-2000/DEF 1900) (ATK 1600-2000/DEF 400)

"Even though it doesn't matter which of my monster's attack, I'll have Marauding Captain attack your face down monster," the twin sword wielding Warrior charged at Reina's monster, revealing a loin with skin made of bark and flower petals in place of a mane. (ATK 1600/DEF 2000)

"Meet Botanical Lion and he gains 300 attack points for every Plant type monster on the field, himself included," Reina grinned. (ATK 1600-1900/DEF 2000)

The lion roared and Marauding Captain halted and jumped back to Morton's side of the field.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Morton grumbled.

Reina drew and smirked. "I activate my face down card, Ivy Shackles, now during my turn all of your monsters are treated as Plant types," vines shot out of the ground and constricted the two Warriors. (ATK 1900-2500/DEF 2000) (ATK 2000-1200/DEF 400) (ATK 2000-1200/DEF 1900)

"And I'm far from done be I'll call out Gigantic Cephalotus in attack mode," a huge Plant monster with the body structure of a dinosaur and the head of a venus flytrap rose onto the field and let out an ear splitting roar. (ATK 1850/DEF 700) (ATK 2500-2800/DEF 2000)

"Botanical Lion attack Marauding Captain if it wouldn't be too much trouble," the lion roared and jumped at the Warrior, in pinned him to the ground and then drove its claws into his chest causing him to shatter like glass. (ATK 2000-1800/DEF 1900) (ATK 2800-2500/DEF 2000)

**(Reina: 8000) ---- (Morton: 6400)**

"Now I should probably mention my Cephalotus' effect since it gains 200 attack points every time a Plant monster is sent from the field to the Graveyard," Reina explained as the giant Plant monster roared. (ATK 1850-2050/DEF 700)

"Cephalotus attack his Command Knight!" Gigantic Cephalotus roared and devoured the hapless Warrior. (ATK 2500-2300/DEF 2000) (ATK 2050-2250/DEF 700)

**(Reina: 8000) ---- (Morton: 5550)**

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," said Reina.

Morton growled and drew his next card. "I activate my face down card Call of the Haunted and use it to revive my Command Knight," the red armored Warrior dug her way out of the ground. (ATK 1200-1800/DEF 1900)

Reina cocked and eyebrow. "Now I release her to call out Freed the Matchless General!" Command Knight vanished and was replaced by a man in shiny silver armor with long blond hair. (ATK 2300-2500/DEF 1700)

"Now before you go on about how my General only ties with you lion, in a moment it won't matter, because I activate Lightning Vortex!" Morton shouted.

"Shit," Reina hissed.

"Now I just discard one card and all your face up monsters are reduced to ashes," lightning rained down from the sky vaporizing Reina's two monsters.

"Freed attack her directly with Commander's Blade!" Freed slashed Reina with his sword causing her to stumble backwards.

**(Reina: 5500) ---- (Morton: 5550)**

"Me thinks their starting to make Solid Vision a tad too solid," Reina muttered to herself while she clutched where the Warrior had slashed her.

"I'll set one card face down and end my turn." Morton smirked.

Reina drew and grimaced slightly. "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn."

"Looks like you can't do much, so I'll use Freed's effect to add another Command Knight to my hand, then I'll summon her," a card slipped out of Morton's Deck and he slapped it onto the tray of his Duel Disk and the female knight reappeared. (ATK 2500-3100/DEF 1700) (ATK 1200-2000/DEF 1900)

"Command Knight attack her face down monster!" Command Knight slashed the face down monster in two, revealing a thin creature with leaves for arms and legs.

"That was my Horseytail and when he bites the big one, you get a Horsetail token," next to Command Knight a thin creature grew out of the ground. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"It doesn't matter you're about to take a massive hit, Freed direct attack!" Freed ran and Reina who didn't look phased at all.

"Reveal face down card Defense Draw, so now I get to draw a card and all battle damage from this battle is reduced to zero," Freed's sword bounced off and invisible barrier and Reina snapped a card off the top of her Deck.

"Wait why didn't you use that last turn?" Morton asked.

"I figured you'd have another Command Knight in your Deck and that you'd bring it to your hand with Freed's effect, you're not the first Warrior Deck I've faced," Reina told him. "Plus I knew that you're next attack would likely deal more damage," Reina explained.

"I end my turn." Morton growled. (ATK 3100-2300/DEF 1700) (ATK 2000-1200/DEF 1900)

Reina drew and smirked. "I activate my Fragrance Storm Spell card, which allows me to destroy a Plant type monster and then draw a card and if that card is a Plant I can show you to draw again," explained Reina.

"But you don't have any Plants!" Morton shouted.

"No, but you have three, so I'll be using your Command Knight thank you," Command Knight shattered and Reina pulled the top card off her Deck.

"Well I won't get to draw again, because since I added Rose Fairy from my Deck to my hand with the effect of a Spell Trap of monster card I can Special Summon her," a pink skinned fairy with a rose on the back of her head appeared on the field. (ATK 600/DEF 1200)

"Now I release her to summon Rose Tentacles in attack mode," Rose Fairy dissolved into motes of light and from the ground grew a massive rose with eight thorn covered vines sprouting from it. (ATK 2200/DEF 1200)

"Too bad it's not enough to beat Freed," Morton sneered.

"I activate Magic Planter and send my Ivy Shackles to the Graveyard to draw twice," the Trap card disappeared and Reina tore two cards off the top of her Deck. (ATK 2300-2500/DEF 1700)

"Perfect, now I activate Mark of the Rose and remove my Botanical Lion from the Graveyard to gain control of your Freed," a black symbol similar to the one on Reina's shirt appeared on Freed's cheek. His eyes glazed over and he walked to Reina's side of the field. (ATK 2500-2300/DEF 1700)

"Rose Tentacles attack the Horseytail token with Thorn Whip!" one of Rose Tentacles vines shot forward destroying the token.

"Now Rose Tentacles effect activates and you take 300 points of damage plus it can attack an additional time for each Plant on your field," Rose Tentacles vine slammed into Morton causing him to gasp.

**(Reina: 5500) ---- (Morton: 3050)**

"Freed attack your former master directly with Command Blade!" Freed let loose a battle cry and slashed Morton.

**(Reina: 5500) ---- (Morton: 750)**

"This isn't over I still have Life Points let," Morton growled.

"You won't in a minute because I'm give Freed a gift. The Vengeful Servant Spell card you now when he goes back to your control he'll hit you for his original attack points in damage, so I end my turn," Reina grinned.

Freed walked over with a bird like creature on his shoulder and slashed his master.

**(Reina: 5500) ---- (Morton: 0)**

Morton growled "Ok what's your question?"

"Are you working for Josh Atlas?" Reina asked flatly.

"Yes," Morton said while gritting his teeth.

Reina shrugged. "I figured as much," she said before sitting down with Melissa and Rob.

Alexandria who as Reina suspected had been watching the duel was now sitting at a café nearby talking into a cell phone. "Sir, Morton was soundly defeated by Reina Fudo," she said.

"Yes I figured as much, did you get any notes on the duel?" the voice asked.

"Yes sir, she's added a few new cards to her Deck, like Mark of the Rose and Vengeful Servant," Alexandria informed the person.

"Hmmm not much then oh well, keep spying on them, try to find out what her little trash friends have, just in case," the person on the other side said.

"Yes Josh sir," Alexandria said before hanging up.

**Zeke: Wells so ends the first chapter of our story.**

**Reina: Looks like Josh is still refusing to let up.**

**Melissa: Ya what's up with that?**

**Rob: I'll be explained later, but the biggest matter is, why didn't we get to see more of my duel!?**

**Reina: Because in the end Zeke managed to snatch victory from your hands yet again.**

**Melissa: Speaking of Zeke he gets to strut his stuff in the next chapter, I can't wait.**

**Zeke: Don't miss, the next chapter called: Ghost in the Machine.**

A/N: So folks how did you enjoy the first chapter, if you have any suggestions I'll happily hear them.


	2. Ch2: Ghost in the Machine

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Two: Ghost in the Machine

A few days pass since Reina's duel with Morton. The four friends are currently in school, but who ever has an interest in the five Dragons of the Signers is still working, on what who knows but them?

The office was still pitch-black save for the screen of their computer. The glare from it still hiding their face, they were once again looking over something.

Whatever it was it was different than what they were doing before. This time it showed just the five Dragon, but below each was a small bar. The ones below Stardust Dragon, Ancient Fairy Dragon and Blackfeather Dragon were full. But the ones below Red Dragon Archfiend and Black Rose Dragon, were for the most part empty.

"Hmmm, I'll need more energy from those two if phase two is to proceed on schedule. But how do I do that, I had enough trouble getting the energy from Stardust Dragon," the person muttered.

The door to the office swung open and someone walked in. "Good afternoon sir," a cheery female voice said.

"Oh good afternoon Miranda," the person responded dully.

The new person known as Miranda walked over and looked at the screen. "Still haven't figured out how to extract energy from those two yet, eh?" she asked.

"I have ideas, but none of them would work out all too well," the person answered.

Miranda broke into a devilish grin. "Oh I think I have a way, we just need to make some calls."

-****-

The four friends walked out of the front entrance of Duel Academy, the New Domino City branch. Even in twenty years very, little had actually changed about it, and the city all together.

"So guys and Mel what should we do?" Reina asked.

Zeke yawned. "I know what I want to do, tell Mr. Ferus that his lectures are boring me to an early grave," he growled.

"Get over it Zeke, you're going to have to learn to deal with it, and hello you're getting high marks in that class," Rob told him.

"Still it's hard not to nod off during that class," Zeke groaned.

"Maybe we should ask Kaz to hang out with us?" Melissa suggested.

Reina chuckled. "What I think you meant to say, Mel is why don't _we_ ask Kazuki to hang out with _you_."

"Did I hear someone calling my name?" someone asked.

The person was a young man, about seventeen or eighteen years old with messy dark blue hair and light blue eyes. Like Rob and Zeke he wore a blue jacket and a pair of black pants.

"As a matter of fact Kaz we were just talking about you, Mel wanted to ask you something," Reina told him with a grin.

"Ok, what is it you wanted to ask Melissa?" Kazuki asked.

Melissa's face turned bright red. "Ummm, we…we….well you see, well what I wan…wanted to ask was, ummmmm," she stuttered.

"Oh I get it," Kazuki grinned.

"You do!?" Rob, Reina and Zeke shouted in unison.

"Ya, I totally do. She forgot what she wanted to ask me, and she's a bit embarrassed to say it, right Melissa?" Kazuki asked.

Reina, Zeke and Rob fell forward with a loud crash. "What a bone head, he doesn't realize that Mel has a crush on him," Rob whispered to the other two.

"Well he may be the schools best duelist, so maybe he knows and just wants her to admit it, or maybe he already has a girlfriend," Reina whispered.

"Well I have to get going see you later," said Kazuki as he walked away. Melissa was still stuttering and her face was a very bright shade of red.

She shook her head and glared at Reina who only smiled innocently. "That was cruel, very cruel Reina," Melissa growled.

"I think it was hilarious, mainly because he's either messing with you, which kind of makes him a bit of a jerk, or he's a total bone head," Reina laughed.

A large drop of sweat rolled down the side of Melissa's head. "I hate to admit it but you may very well be right. But every time I try to tell him I totally freeze up."

"Ok back to what we're going to do," Zeke said.

"KESSLER!" someone shouted.

The group turned around to see a girl stomping towards them. She had blonde hair and wore a uniform just like Reina and Melissa. This consisted of a dark red jack with a tail that went about to knee length, as well as a black skirt.

"And you are?" Zeke asked a large question mark appearing over his head.

"Someone out for revenge!" the girl roared.

"Ok and your name would be?" Zeke asked.

"You humiliated my brother in a duel! I'm here to make you pay dearly!" the girl shouted.

"Ok care to tell me you're name, I humiliate plenty of people in duels every week," Zeke said and his friends couldn't help but sweat-drop.

"_Man he just said that so casually,"_ they all thought.

"My name is Kendra Walker! You defeated my brother Elliot Walker in a duel about a week ago, in front of just about everyone in school I might add!" the girl screamed.

"Ok, you do realize you brother was a bully with a third rate Machine Deck?" Zeke asked.

"What! He was not a bully! He was one of the best in the school. So if he shoved some little weaklings around, then so be it!" Kendra snarled.

"Right," Zeke said sarcastically. "Well he was a bully one way or the other, because I don't care if he was the King of Games, or the King of the city, hell I don't care if he was King of the Underworld, he treated other people like crap so I beat the living crap out of him in a duel."

"You beat him by sheer dumb luck is what I say," Kendra snarled. "His Deck was perfect and yours relied on not having any cards in your hand, you shouldn't have beaten him!"

"Really well I'm pretty sure I won when my Infernity Dwarf dropped his Life Points to zero," Zeke sneered.

"_Now I wish I'd see that duel,"_ Reina thought. _"In terms of actually having attack points Infernity Dwarf has to be that Deck's weakest monster."_

Kendra growled. "Fine I challenge you, and if I win you'll admit that it was only a by a fluke you won, but should you beat me then I'll admit you won fair and square."

"Sounds fair to me, we couldn't really decide what he wanted to do yet anyway. And I've got time to kill," Zeke smirked.

Both duelists stood several paces apart and slotted their Decks into their Duel Disks.

"Duel!" they shouted.

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Kendra: 8000)**

"Since there is no way you'll beat me, I'll let you go first," Kendra sneered.

Zeke shrugged and drew his sixth card. "I activate Gold Sarcophagus, thanks to this card I can take any card from my Deck and then remove it from play, then in two Standby Phases it gets added to my hand," he explained as a huge golden chest with an eye design on the front appeared behind him.

A single card slid inside and then the chest sealed itself and dissolved into motes of light. "But don't think I'm done yet, I summon Djinn Presider of Rituals in attack mode!" a green skinned Fiend holding a bronze shield and holding a sword with the guard made out of a skull, walked onto the field and growled at Kendra. (ATK 1800/DEF 1400)

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," he said as a single card appeared behind his monster.

Kendra drew and smirked. "Heh, your little Fiend won't be around for long because I activate the power of Frontline Base, with this very useful Continuous Spell card I can Special Summon a level four or lower Union monster once per turn."

"So I may as well use it now, come forth Heavy Mech Support Platform!" a small odd looking jet fighter flew out of the Spell card and onto the field. (ATK 500/DEF 500)

"Now I'll call out something to help that ugly thing off the field, say hello to my Machina Gearframe," the next Machine had an orange and silver body, with thing arms and a helmet covering its head. (ATK 1800/DEF 0)

"Now his effect activates and I may add one Machina monster from my Deck to my hand, well except for another Machina Gearframe," Kendra explained.

"I'll select the deadly Machina Fortress to add to my hand, but we'll get to him later, maybe," a single card slipped out of Kendra's Deck and she added it to her hand and then hit the auto-shuffler button.

"Now to wipe that ugly Fiend off the field, I'll link my Support Platform to my Gearframe to boost Gearframe's attack and defense points by 500," Heavy Mech Support Platform linked onto Machina Gearframe, becoming a jetpack of sorts. (ATK 1800-2300/DEF 0-500)

"Machina, I've never heard of these guys before, either of you two?" Rob asked.

Melissa shook her head and Reina rubbed her chin. "Well I sort of have, Blister has a card called Machina Sniper, but it's in pretty bad shape," she replied.

"Go Gearframe attack his Presider," Machina Gearframe fired two blasts of energy from its hands, but just before they struck, Zeke's face down card flipped up.

"Reveal face down card! Rush Recklessly, a somewhat old card, but still very useful, now my Presider gains 700 attack points. And last I checked that's enough to scrap your Machine!" a fierce red aura appeared around Zeke's monster (ATK 1800-2500/DEF 1400) and it roared and deflected the blast back to its source.

"It doesn't really matter because my Support Platform is the thing that'll bite the dust," Kendra smirked. The blast struck Machina Gearframe, but only its jetpack exploded. (ATK 2300-1800/DEF 500-0)

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Kendra: 7800)**

"I'll just end my turn, not like you can destroy my Gearframe anyway," she said. (ATK 2500-1800/DEF 1400)

Zeke drew and the golden chest started to appear, but it was for the most part transparent. "Just one more Standby Phase and I'll have my card, but I probably won't need it."

"What are you implying?" Kendra growled.

"I'm implying that I won't even have to break a sweat to beat you," answered Zeke. "I don't know if you've figured it out yet, but I'm not using the same Deck I used against your brother. And for the record I didn't need to use my Infernity Deck to pound him into the ground, I'd say my Archfiend Deck at the worst."

"Man she really pushed his buttons, and with how brutally he duels that's bad," Reina muttered.

"No doubt," said Rob with a grin.

"Wait I'm confused, maybe it's because I don't know Zeke as well as you two, but he has three Decks?" Melissa inquired.

Rob nodded. "Yea and each one is more powerful than the last, well except this one, this is his V Deck, just various Fiends and support, and the Deck you see him use most often is his level two A or Archfiend Deck, then there's his level three I or Infernity Deck, if he uses that one, you best run for cover, it's pure evil."

"Wow, I've only seen him use the I Deck once, the strategy is just plain crazy," Melissa said.

"Ok since my friends have explained why I'm not even taking you seriously, I'll continue. I summon the ever friendly Archfiend Soldier!" a purple skinned Fiend, with a green cape and a long curved sword jumped onto the field. (ATK 1900/DEF 1500)

"Ugh are all of your monsters this ugly?" Kendra asked the disgust in her voice was beyond obvious.

"If you think these two are ugly you should get a good long look at my Infernity monsters, they take hideous to a whole new level," Zeke responded.

"But enough Fiend bashing Archfiend Soldier, get rid of that hunk of junk with Hell Blade," Archfiend Soldier chuckled evilly and slashed the opposing Machine in half.

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Kendra: 7700)**

"Presider you're up, hit her directly with Sacrificial Sword!" the green skinned Fiend smirked and slashed Kendra causing her to cry out.

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Kendra: 5900)**

"I'll just end my turn with a face down," Zeke smirked. "By now I had your brother begging for mercy, care to start?"

For the third time in the same day large droplets of sweat ran down the sides of the heads of Zeke's friends. "Ok this duel is now showing me I'm glad Zeke is my friend not my enemy," Melissa chuckled.

Reina and Rob nodded in unison.

Kendra growled and drew her next card. "I'll show you that you better damn well take me seriously you Fiend using freak!"

"I summon Red Gadget!" a small toy like robot that not surprisingly was dark red, with a large gear on its back walked onto the field. (ATK 1300/DEF 1500)

"Thanks to its effect I can now add Yellow Gadget from my Deck to my hand," Red Gadget emitted a faint yellow glow and a card fell out of Kendra's Deck.

"Then I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," she said.

Zeke cocked and eyebrow and drew his next card. "That has to be the most obvious Trap I've ever seen."

The golden box fully materialized and Zeke pulled a card out of his back pocket. He took one look at the card and grinned.

"Oh well it doesn't matter," he shrugged. "Presider, attack her Gadget!" the wicked Djinn laughed and charged forward.

"Reverse card open!" Kendra shouted. "Negate Attack, another old card, but still every useful in today's game," a swirling vortex appeared to block the Fiend's sword.

Zeke shrugged. "Like I said it doesn't matter, because my Djinn won't be sticking around, because I'm releasing him to call out one Dark Ruler Ha Des!" a bonfire of black flames consumed the green skinned Fiend. From the flames appeared a Fiend in regal attire, holding a glass full of red liquid. (ATK 2450/DEF 1600)

"Now I'll simply end my turn," he said.

"Hold on before you end your turn I activate my face down card, Stronghold the Moving Fortress!" a large gunmetal grey Machine with three slots on its chest marked with a Y, a G and an R rose out of the ground. (ATK 0/DEF 2000)

"It's what you would call a Trap monster, and it will be the instrument of your destruction," Kendra threatened.

"I don't really care, I'm not scared of your piles of scrap, or of you," Zeke said casually.

Kendra growled. "Stop acting so god damn cocky this duel has just begun!"

"Yes I know but I'll stop being cocky when you actually manage to gain an edge," taunted Zeke.

"I activate Pot of Greed, now I get to draw twice!" Kendra snarled as a large green jar with a grinning face appeared. She pulled two cards off her Deck and smirked.

"I activate Double Summon! Now I can well Normal Summon twice this turn." She explained. "First up we have Yellow Gadget!" a monster that looked very similar to Red Gadget only well yellow appeared and started to glow green. (ATK 1200/DEF 1200)

"Now thanks to its effect I'll add the last piece of this puzzle to my hand, it's known as Green Gadget! And I can summon it and I won't use his effect," another toy looking robot, appeared and true to its name it was mostly green. (ATK 1400/DEF 600)

"Ok time to gain control of this duel, I activate Tribute to the Doomed, and I'll discard my Machina Fortress to take out your Ha Des!" bandages shot out of the ground and wrapped around the fiendish king dragging him into the earth.

"_Ok that can't be good she just ditched a high level monster, and she could've just summoned it,"_ Zeke thought.

"Oh ya something I forgot to mention with my three Gadgets on the field Stronghold his attack points become 3000," the three smaller monsters jumped into the slots and steam blew from the pipes on Strongholds shoulder. (ATK 0-3000/DEF 2000)

"Now I move Stronghold into attack mode, and you know what I'll have him attack your Archfiend Soldier with Strong Fist!" steam spewed out of the pipes and Stronghold's fist slammed into the Fiend shattering it like glass.

**(Zeke: 6900) ---- (Kendra: 5900)**

"Ok my three Gadgets get him!" the three monsters jumped out of the slots and charged at Zeke. Yellow and Red Gadget punched the silver haired boy undeterred, but Green Gadget smashed into a wall furry creatures.

**(Zeke: 4400) ---- (Kendra: 5900)**

"What was that?" Kendra questioned.

Zeke picked himself up having been knocked over by the two attacks. "That was the bane of the Kaiba name, better known as Kuriboh, a very handy little Fiend," he explained dusting himself off.

"Heh, not so high and might now are you?" Kendra asked.

"Maybe not, but your little plan has a huge flaw, those Gadgets monsters, without them Stronghold is nothing more than dead weight," replied Zeke.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Kendra chuckled.

Zeke drew and grinned, which sent a chill down Kendra and his friends spines. "I just drew your destruction, because I activate Graceful Charity, then I draw three times and ditch two cards," a beautiful angel appeared next to Zeke, she seemed slightly confused.

He handed her two cards and smirked. "Now it's time for the End of the World!"

Everyone save for Zeke's eyes went wide as dinner plates. "He has Demise! No way, that thing is pure evil!" Rob shouted.

"And perfect for his V Deck," Reina muttered.

"I remove Djinn Presider of Rituals, Djinn Prognosticator of Rituals, and finally Djinn Disserere of Rituals from my Graveyard to offer to this dark ritual," said Zeke as the three named cards fell out of his Graveyard.

"Wait you're cheating you can't remove monsters from your Graveyard to Ritual Summon!" Kendra screamed.

"Normally you'd be right but in this case you're dead wrong. My Djinns bend the rules. Now to continue I call forth Demise, King of Armageddon!" an explosion of blue flames engulfed the field.

Three spectral Fiends appeared and were consumed by the flames. An unearthly roar could be heard, and from deep with in the flames appeared a creature many duelists feared.

He was ten feet tall and covered in black armor with some white parts, his head looked like a skull with two huge black horns on either side of his head. In his hands he held a huge battle axe. (ATK 2400/DEF 2000)

"Ok now I'll unleash Demise's extremely deadly effect, for the price of 2000 of my Life Points he nukes the field, well he'll survive, but you get the point. I activate his effect, Flames of Ragnarok!" Demise roared causing the flames that had yet to die down to ignite brighter than before. They engulfed everything except for the king himself.

**(Zeke: 2400) ---- (Kendra: 5900)**

"Demise attack her directly with you End of the World Axe!" Demise smirked and slashed Kendra with his axe causing her to screech in pain.

**(Zeke: 2400) ---- (Kendra: 3500)**

"I'll set a single card face down and something I should mention that since I used my Prognosticator of Rituals and Demise here inflicted damage you have to discard one card, and you only have one," Demise grabbed the last card in Kendra's hand and slid it into her Graveyard.

"Now my turn is over," he added with and evil grin.

"Ok me thinks that some of his parents former evil seeped into their child," Reina said and Melissa and Rob nodded in agreement.

Kendra drew and sneered. "I activate the power of Monster Reborn to revive my Machina Fortress!" a glowing ankh appeared and from it a large Machine monster. It for the most part looked like a dark blue tanks, with a laser cannon on its shoulder. (ATK 2500/DEF 1600)

"Ok Machina Fortress make his Fiend pay. Hit him with your Charged Particle Cannon!" the cannon on the Machine's shoulder began to glow. It fired off a single blast of bluish energy vaporizing Demise.

**(Zeke: 2300) ---- (Kendra: 3500)**

"Damn," Zeke hissed.

"Now I end my turn," Kendra smirked.

Zeke drew and scowled. "I set this in defense mode and then I end my turn."

Kendra drew and her face lit up. "Time to end this duel, I summon Machina Sniper," a robot with tan armor, an elongated head, and a futuristic rifle on its shoulder jumped onto the field. (ATK 1800/DEF 800)

"Sniper destroy this fool's face down monster!" the Machine obeyed and fired a laser pulse at Zeke's face down monster.

"Oh no, if this hits he'll lose!" Melissa shouted.

The attacked flipped Zeke's monster. It revealed it was a small creature, dressed in ragged blue robes, with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. It held a tuning fork and a small drumstick. (ATK 1300/DEF 300)

"What in that ugly little thing?" Kendra demanded.

"His name is Dark Resonator if you watched any of Jack Atlas' duels you'd know this little guy. On a side note once per turn he can't be destroyed," explained Zeke, much to Kendra's annoyance.

"So what you've only bought yourself one more turn, because my Fortress is about to wipe out your Fiend!" the tank like monster began charging its cannon again.

"Sorry but that's a no go!" Zeke shouted. "Reveal face down card, Call of the Earthbound! Now I choose the target of your attack and guess what it would have to be your Sniper!" Machina Fortress seemed confused for a second. It then turned and reduced its ally to slag.

**(Zeke: 2300) ---- (Kendra: 2800)**

Kendra snarled. "Damn you! I'll set one card face down and end my turn."

"This duel is officially over," Zeke declared.

"What! That is a complete load of crap!" Kendra shouted.

"No because I release my Dark Resonator to call out the King of Hell!" Dark Resonator waved goodbye to Kendra and was engulfed in flames.

An evil laugh emanated from the fires, and from them stepped something from out of a nightmare. The creature wore ornate black and red armor, with a flowing crimson cape. In his hand he held a fiendish looking sword. (ATK 2400/DEF 1700)

"You dolt, he isn't even strong enough to defeat my Fortress!" Kendra laughed.

"I've got two words for you. Special Effect, and his is a nasty one, since I called him out by releasing a Fiend type monster I can destroy one monster on the field. And obviously I choose your Fortress," the royal Fiend laughed and fired a bolt of energy reducing Machina Fortress to scrap metal.

"But I'll still have Life Points even if you attack!" Kendra shouted.

Zeke turned one of the cards in his hand around showing a Spell card. "This is Double Attack and with it I just need to discard a monster of a higher level than my King and he can attack you twice this turn. I discard Belial – Marquis of Darkness and since he's a level eight monster and my King is a level six well this duel is done."

The royal Fiend laughed again and slashed Kendra twice with his sword.

**(Zeke: 2300) ---- (Kendra: 0)**

"Now what do you have to say?" Zeke asked.

"You beat my brother and me fair and square you retched jackass," she snarled through her teeth before stomping off.

"I must admit that was actually a fun duel," Zeke muttered.

What the group failed to realize was that Alexandria had spied on the whole duel. _"My god he has Demise! And that's in his weakest Deck, maybe Josh should challenge him,"_ she thought.

**Zeke: Well I proved, I am the master of Fiends.**

**Reina: And with your weakest Deck no less, I must admit I would love to see those Infernity cards.**

**Rob: Blah, blah, blah, who cares about Zeke what the people want to see is me and my Blackwings kicking ass and taking names.**

**Melissa: Well no dice Robert, because next chapter I'm going to duel.**

**Reina: Great, you get to show off your awsome Deck!**

**Melissa: Don't miss me duel in: A License to Duel**

**Rob: Damn it! Let me duel!**

**Original Card(s)**

King of Hell

Dark | Level 6 | Fiend/Effect | 2400/1700 | If this card is Advance Summoned by releasing a Fiend type monster you may destroy one monster on the field.


	3. Ch3: A License to Duel

(A/N: In this chapter is the very first Turbo Duel, I'll be using the original Speed World, mainly because I don't like number two.)

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Three: A License to Duel

On the docks of New Domino City near Daedalus Bridge, two figures stood. Both of them were duelists and were in the middle of a duel.

Both were boys, one wore brown cargo pants and a brown t-shirt with a black beetle on the front of it. He had orange hair that was shoulder length, and light blue eyes.

The other was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white trench coat with a black shirt underneath. He had blond hair fashioned into five spikes above his head, with similar style bangs over his forehead and harsh purple eyes.

The boy in brown currently had a very well known monster on the field. It was Insect Queen (ATK 2200-2400/DEF 2400) as well as a small egg and a face down card. His Life Points stood at 2100.

The other boy only had two face down cards and 500 Life Points.

"Well Josh it looks like I will finally wrest control of our little group from your pathetic hands," the orange haired boy sneered.

Josh just smirked. "Brian do you really think that's possible?" he asked. "I'm very doubtful that if you did gain control from me you'd be a very good leader, you're just like your worthless, trash Insects, always underfoot waiting to be stomped on."

"Ha!" Brian laughed. "Well last I checked the scores, my trash Insects are beating the crap out of you!"

"You might think that," Josh smirked. "Now are you going to just sit there and gloat, or end your turn, because I have some reading to do for my history class?"

"Fine I've got nothing left to do, I'll end my turn, but next turn you're finished," Brian laughed.

Josh drew and grinned wickedly. "You and that tiny brain of yours might think that, but let be tell you one thing, this duel is over this turn!"

"I Special Summon Vice Dragon, since I have no monster and you have queen ugly over there, but his attack and defense points are halved," a large Dragon with purple-grey scales flew onto the field. (ATK 2000-1000/DEF 2400-1200)

"Hmph! Your meagre defense won't hold out against my mighty Insect army," Brian said.

"Whoever said I'd called out Vice Dragon in defense mode, he's on the attack, but he won't be around much longer, meet one of my newest monsters, Dragunity Darkspear!" a small Dragon with a black hide and a head shaped like that of a spear appeared next to the larger Dragon. (ATK 1000/DEF 1000)

"How is he going to help you?" Brian asked with a note of fear creeping into his voice.

"He's a Tuner monster," Josh answered and Brian's eyes became very wide. "But first I activate Zero Gravity! Now the modes of all monsters are switched," all the monsters on the field switched to a more defensive stance, save for the egg which didn't seem to do anything.

"Now I tune my level three, Darkspear, with my level five, Vice Dragon to Synchro Summon…." Josh began as Darkspear flew into the air followed by Vice Dragon.

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!"_ Darkspear burst becoming three green rings that surrounded Vice Dragon.

Vice Dragon was reduced to orange framework revealing five stars hidden within. They produced a burst of light. When it faded a huge demonic looking Dragon with black scales with red markings had appeared in Vice Dragon's place. It threw back its head and let loose a vicious roar. (ATK 3000/DEF 2000)

"Oh crap," Brian muttered.

"Crap is right!" Josh laughed. "First I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face down card!" a whirlwind shot from the card blasting Brian's face down Sakuretsu Armor to pixels.

"Red Dragon Archfiend show his queen who the better ruler is with your Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon Archfiend roared and his left hand burst into flames. He flew forward and slashed Insect Queen who cried out it agony as she was consumed by the flames.

"Now his effect activates and since he attacked a defense mode monster all other monsters trying to defend die. Torch that egg with Demon Meteor!" Red Dragon Archfiend opened its maw and unleashed a torrent of flames obliterating the egg.

"So what I didn't lose any Life Points and your Dragon is the only monster you have on the field!" Brian shouted.

"I activate my face down card, you moron Lineage of Destruction! Now since my Dragon toasted your Queen and your egg, he can attack again, Brian consider yourself fired!" Red Dragon Archfiend unleashed its attack on Brian sending him flying back.

"Ugh, bad pun," Brian groaned.

Josh stomped over to the fallen boy and pulled two cards out of his Graveyard, one was Insect Queen and the other was Doom Dozer. "Well according to our deal the winner can take the loser's two rarest cards, so thanks these will fetch me some cash on eBay," Josh laughed as he walked away.

-****-

Several hours later at Duel Academy

The group of four was standing at the Duel Runner track at the school. Melissa was dressed in a silver riding suit with a green circuitry pattern on it, and beside her was a silver Duel Runner with a similar pattern.

"Guys I don't know if I can do this," she said nervously. "What if I totally choke like last time."

"Mel, you'll do fine, we've practiced with uncle Leo and aunt Luna's Duel Boards you'll be fine," Reina told her reassuringly.

Melissa gulped and a man in a Sector Security uniform and sitting on a Security Duel Runner pulled up beside the group. "Are you Ms. Melissa Yoshiro?" he asked.

Melissa nodded. "Ok I'm Officer Sechiro Cruse I'll be administering your Duel Runner licensing field test," he said. "I'll explain the rules, first during the duel you are not allowed to use auto-pilot, I'm supposed to test how you handle your Runner, and second you may not stop during the duel, unless, circumstances force you to. Ok now hope on your Runner and get ready."

Melissa got on the bike and gulped again. "We know you can do it Mel," Zeke said.

"You'll do fine, now kick this Security clown's butt," Rob grinned.

Melissa nodded and she and Sechiro rode to the starting line. "Ok Ms. Yoshiro who ever makes it around the first turn gets to make the first move," Sechiro explained.

Both duelists pressed a button on the console of their Runner's. "Speed World set on!" they both shouted.

A single card flashed on the screen. _"Duel mode engaged,"_ a computerized voice said.

Both riders revved their engines as the countdown began. The light flashed green and both Runners flew forward.

"Duel!" both riders shouted.

**(Melissa: 8000-SPC: 0) ---- (Sechiro: 8000-SPC: 0)**

As they neared the first turn Melissa pulled back and Sechiro made it first and pulled the sixth card free from his Deck. "Looks like I get to make the first move,"

"And I'll start it off with a face down card and a monster set in defense mode and that will be all," two cards appeared beside the Security Officer's bike and one vanished.

"Then that means it's my turn!" Melissa said drawing her sixth card.

**(Melissa: 8000-SPC: 1) ---- (Sechiro: 8000-SPC: 1)**

"I summon Telekinetic Shocker to the field," a rainbow coloured portal opened next to Melissa's Runner and a creature in a red and black body suit, with a silver dome shaped helmet flew out. (ATK 1700/DEF 700)

"Shocker attack his face down monster with Psychic Voltage!" Telekinetic Shocker gathered energy in its palms and then fired several bolts of electricity at Sechiro's face down monster.

The monster was a man with blond hair in a toga with six golden feathered wings. He was quickly reduced to ashes just as Sechiro's face down card flipped open

"Thank you Ms. Yoshiro because you just destroyed my Shining Angel and activated my face down card, and helped me summon not one but two monsters," he smirked.

"My face down card was called Soul Rope and since one of my monsters was destroyed I pay 1000 Life Points to call out a level four monster from my Deck, so meet my X-Head Cannon in attack mode!" from a portal appeared a robot with a blue and yellow body, and no legs, from its shoulders protruded two deadly looking laser cannon barrels. (ATK 1800/DEF 1500)

"Now thanks to my Shining Angel's effect which was activated when you destroyed him and sent him to the Graveyard, I can now Special Summon one Light monster from my Deck with 1500 or less attack points and I have a perfect one. Meet Y-Dragon Head!" beside X-Head Cannon appeared a red mechanical dragon shaped kind of like a jet. (ATK 1500/DEF 1600)

"Oh man, this could be trouble for Mel, especially if this guy has four other monsters in his Deck," Rob said.

"If he summons 'that' thing nothing in Mel's Deck will have much luck destroying it," Zeke muttered.

"Nothing in her regular Deck would have much luck trashing 'that' monster, but her turbo Deck can take it on," Reina grinned.

"I'll set one card face down and end my turn," Melissa sighed.

Sechiro drew and scowled.

**(Melissa: 8000-SPC: 2) ---- (Sechiro: 8000-SPC: 2)**

"X-Head Cannon blaster her Shocker with Fission Lasers!" the blue Machine fired two bursts of energy blowing Telekinetic Shocker to pixels.

**(Melissa: 7900-SPC: 2) ---- (Sechiro: 8000-SPC: 2)**

"Y-Dragon Head attack her directly!" Y-Head Head opened its maw and fired a laser blast that slammed into Melissa's Duel Runner causing it to slow down.

**(Melissa: 6400-SPC: 1) ---- (Sechiro: 8000-SPC: 2)**

"Hey Reina how come these cards are different than the ones Chief Trudge used against your mom and me?" Rob inquired.

"Well Rob, since you had to actually duel old double T and face those sinister bikers of his. But Zeke and I faced different Security Officers, and they used totally different Decks. I guessing they use different Deck so that everyone can't just use some anti Fiend strategy and get their license easy," Reina replied.

"I activate my face down card! Damage Condenser, now since I took 1500 points of damage I just have to discard one card and then I can summon a monster with 1500 or less attack points. I choose my Krebons!" a huge strange looking machine appeared next to Melissa's Runner and from it emerged her monster.

It looked like a jester in purple and orange clothes, with a similar pattern on it similar to what Melissa had on her riding suit. It had a visor with a greater than and a less than sign over equals serving as eyes. (ATK 1200/DEF 400)

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Sechiro said.

Melissa drew and grinned.

**(Melissa: 6400-SPC: 2) ---- (Sechiro: 8000-SPC: 3)**

"I summon Mind Protector," from the portal emerged a cyborg with yellow armor. (ATK 0/DEF 2200)

"Now I'll tune my level two, Krebons with my level three, Mind Protector……" Melissa began as Krebons became see-through and fused with Mind Protector.

"_With armor of steel and a soul of light, grant the forces of good energy to fight on! Synchro Summon Magical Android!"_

Two green rings appeared from nowhere around Mind Protector who was reduced to framework. There was a burst of light from the stars.

When the light faded a slightly odd sight was floating next to Melissa's Runner. It was a woman with waist length red hair she wore a blue and silver dress with yellow circuitry patterns covering it. In her hands were a weird looking shield and a strange staff. (ATK 2400/DEF 1700)

"Magical Android destroy his X-Head Cannon with Psychic Energy Surge!" the android raised her staff and fired of a bolt of energy reducing the Machine to slag.

**(Melissa: 6400-SPC: 2) ---- (Sechiro: 7400-SPC: 3)**

"Now I'll end my turn by setting two face down cards!" two cards appeared next to Melissa's bike then disappeared.

"Oh and before I forget my Android's effect activates healing by 600 points for every Psychic monster on the field," Magical Android raised her staff and golden dust fell over Melissa's bike.

**(Melissa: 7000-SPC: 2) ---- (Sechiro: 7400-SPC: 3)**

"Why'd Mel trash X-Head Cannon not Y-Dragon Head? She would've caused more damage." Rob said with a large question mark appearing over his head.

"It makes more sense in the long run, because for all we know this guy has a few copies of Roll Out so it sort of makes more sense to trash the non Union monster first," Zeke explained.

**(Melissa: 7000-SPC: 3) ---- (Sechiro: 7400-SPC: 4)**

"Not a bad move but in the end it won't matter, reveal face down card! Call of the Haunted and I revive X-Head Cannon!" the ground next to Sechiro's Runner spilt open and the fallen Machine pulled itself out.

"Now I summon the final piece of the puzzle Z-Metal Tank you're up!" a yellow tank with caterpillar treads rolled out of the portal. (ATK 1500/DEF 1300)

"Oh no he's going to summon XYZ!" Reina shouted.

"I remove my three monsters from play to unleash one of my deadliest monsters!" the three Machine's all emitted a blast of sparks, Y-Dragon Head linked to the top of Z-Metal Tank and X-Head Cannon to the top of the metallic dragon. The end result screamed futuristic killing Machine. (ATK 2800/DEF 2600)

"I activate my face down card!" Melissa shouted. "Go Threatening Roar! Now you can't attack this turn," a huge beast appeared behind Melissa's Duel Runner and let loose a terrifying roar.

Sechiro simply shrugged. "I can still toast your monster. All I have to do is discard one card," he said sliding a card into his Graveyard slot.

XYZ-Dragon Cannon began to charge energy and Melissa smirked as her face down card flipped open.

"Reveal face down card number two! Interdimensional Matter Transporter, so now my Android is moved out of harm's way," an odd space age machine appeared and tore a hole in reality. Magical Android was pulled in and the blast missed.

Sechiro sighed. "Good move, very good in fact, I'll end my turn with a face down."

In a flash of light Magical Android reappeared.

**(Melissa: 7000-SPC: 4) ---- (Sechiro: 7400-SPC: 5)**

"I summon Pandaborg to the field," beside Magical Android appeared another monster. This one's name was spot on, because it was literally a robotic panda with grey armor. (ATK 1700/DEF 1400)

"Now I'll activate a Speed Spell – Psychic Charge! This Speed Spell can only be activated when I have two things, first two or more Psychic type monsters and three or more Speed Counters. Now until the End Phase one of my Psychic monsters gains attack points equal to another on my field, I choose to empower my Android," Pandaborg and Magical Android began to glow. (ATK 2400-4100/DEF 1700)

"Magical Android blast his Dragon Cannon to slag!" Magical Android smirked and fired a massive burst of energy that struck the robot blowing a hole clean through it.

**(Melissa: 7000-SPC: 4) ---- (Sechiro: 6100-SPC: 4)**

"Pandaborg attack him directly!" Pandaborg growled and slashed Sechiro's bike causing him to swerve slightly.

**(Melissa: 7000-SPC: 4) ---- (Sechiro: 4400-SPC: 3)**

"Since my Battle Phase is ending I get hit for the negative side effect of my Speed Spell, which hit for my Androids level time 200 in damage," a bolt of red energy shot from Magical Android and hit Melissa's runner.

**(Melissa: 6000-SPC: 3) ---- (Sechiro: 4400-SPC: 3)**

"But I'll end my turn and Magical Android will heal me right after I set my last card face down," Magical Android raised her staff, but then a bolt of lightning came from the heavens reducing her to ashes.

"Hey what just happened?" Melissa shouted.

"That would be my Divine Wrath card, which when your Android's effect activated it was negated and she was destroyed," Sechiro explained.

**(Melissa: 6000-SPC: 4) ---- (Sechiro: 4400-SPC: 4)**

"I activate a Speed Spell of my own!" Sechiro shouted. "The Speed Spell – Summon Speeder to be precise! It'll allow me since I have at least four Speed Counters to Special Summon one level four or lower monster from my hand, so say hello to X-Head Cannon number two in attack mode!!" in a flash of energy another X-Head Cannon appeared.

"Now I summon V-Tiger Jet to battle!" Sechiro's newest monster was a yellow and green robotic tiger jet combination. (ATK 1600/DEF 1800)

"X-Head Cannon show her Pandaborg who's the better robot!" the Machine charged energy in its cannons and fired blowing Pandaborg to smithereens.

**(Melissa: 5900-SPC: 4) ---- (Sechiro: 4400-SPC: 4)**

"I activate Pandaborg's effect and pay 800 Life Points to Special Summon a level four Psychic monster from my Deck, and I chose my Psychic Snail!" the monster that appeared was incredibly odd looking, it did indeed look like a giant snail with brown and metallic blue skin. (ATK 1900/DEF 1200)

**(Melissa: 5100-SPC: 4) ---- (Sechiro: 4400-SPC: 4)**

"Since I can't attack and I'm out of cards I'll end my turn," Sechiro sighed.

"I activate my face down card, Psychic Overload! Thanks to this handy Trap I can now take three Psychic type monsters and put them back in my Deck then I get to draw two cards, and I'll choose Krebons, Mind Protector and Pandaborg," the three monsters slid out of Melissa's Graveyard and she hit the shuffle button and then pulled two cards off the top of her Deck.

**(Melissa: 5100-SPC: 5) ---- (Sechiro: 4400-SPC: 5)**

"I summon Genetic Woman," the next creature was a woman clad in a black and brown body suit with the ears of a leopard and a huge clawed gauntlet on her right arm. (ATK 1700/DEF 1200)

"Genetic Woman attack his Tiger Jet!" Genetic Woman snarled and leapt at the Machine and slashed it causing it to spark and explode.

**(Melissa: 5100-SPC: 5) ---- (Sechiro: 4300-SPC: 5)**

"Psychic Snail attack his X-Head Cannon with Psychic Shock!" Psychic Snail's antenna began to glow and it fired a beam of electricity at the robot blowing it to scrap.

**(Melissa: 5100-SPC: 5) ---- (Sechiro: 4100-SPC: 5)**

"Now I end my turn with a face down card," Melissa said with a confident smirk.

"She's doing well," Zeke said.

"Hopefully she can beat this clown," Rob grinned.

"She'll beat him," Reina said. She noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Sitting higher up on the stands was Alexandria. Reina scowled and walked away from the guys.

**(Melissa: 5100-SPC: 6) ---- (Sechiro: 4100-SPC: 6)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Angelic Assistance, since I have four or more Speed Counters and no cards in my hand I can draw three times," the Officer explained pulling three cards of his Deck.

"Now I set a monster face down and then two cards and end my turn.

"Then it's my turn!" Melissa shouted.

**(Melissa: 5100-SPC: 7) ---- (Sechiro: 4100-SPC: 7)**

"Genetic Woman attack his face down monster!" Melissa's monster flew forward and slashed what looked like a blue jet in half.

"Psychic Snail attack him directly!" the monster fired of the beam of electricity striking Sechiro's bike.

**(Melissa: 5100-SPC: 7) ---- (Sechiro: 2200-SPC: 6)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Melissa said.

**(Melissa: 5100-SPC: 8) ---- (Sechiro: 2200-SPC: 7)**

"I'm about to bring this duel to a close, but first I activate my face down card. Scrap Trade In! Thanks to this card I can remove any number of Machine monsters from my Graveyard to draw that many cards. I think I'll just remove my V-Tiger Jet and my W-Wing Catapult," Sechiro smirked drawing two cards.

"Now I activate my face down card Return from the Different Dimension, for the low price of half my Life Points and I can Special Summon any removed from play monster. The catch being those monsters will be removed from play when my turn ends," Sechiro explained as a large vortex opened in the sky.

**(Melissa: 5100-SPC: 8) ---- (Sechiro: 1100-SPC: 7)**

"So welcome back, X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, Z-Metal Tank, W-Wing Catapult and V-Tiger Jet," from the vortex flew five monsters all of them with eyes glaring at Melissa.

"No….freaking…..way," Rob gasped.

"She's doomed," Zeke said.

Both of them blinked and noticed at Reina had vanished.

"Ummm where'd she go?" asked Rob.

"Beats me," Zeke muttered.

"Now I remove all of my monsters from play to call out XYZ-Dragon Cannon and VW-Tiger Catapult," the Machines all linked together to form two separate robots, one that had already been seen and another that was V-Tiger Jet on the back of W-Wing Catapult. (ATK 2000/DEF 2100)

"Now I discard my last card to blow your Psychic Snail to smithereens!" XYZ-Dragon Cannon fired a blast of energy atomizing Melissa's monster in an instant.

"Now VW attack her Genetic Woman with Missile Assault!" from the named mech a barrage of missiles rained down destroying Melissa's monster.

**(Melissa: 4800-SPC: 8) ---- (Sechiro: 1100-SPC: 7)**

"XYZ attack her directly with De-Fission Cannon!" the larger mech fired a colossal blast that slammed into Melissa causing her to cry out in surprise.

**(Melissa: 2000-SPC: 6) ---- (Sechiro: 1100-SPC: 7)**

"I'm out of cards but there isn't much you can do so to end my turn I'll fuse my two monsters together to form the deadly VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon!" the two mechs split apart only to fuse into a much larger and deadlier looking mech. (ATK 3000/DEF 2800)

Zeke and Rob could only stare wide eye. "She's totally doomed!" Rob shouted.

**(Melissa: 2000-SPC: 7) ---- (Sechiro: 1100-SPC: 8)**

"I activate my face down Call of the Haunted so be reborn Magical Android!" from the ground rose the female android.

"She isn't enough and even the strongest Psychic Synchro monster can't defeat V to Z," Sechiro said.

"I know but I'm only going to play one more card to end this duel!" Melissa declared.

"One card?" asked a puzzled Zeke and Rob.

"Reverse card open! Battle Teleportation! This is a dangerous card because if I can't win the duel on this turn I lose. But I'll lose anyway, so it doesn't matter. I select one Psychic monster and Magical Android will do just fine, and now she can hit you directly, but when my Battle Phase ends you get control of her, but that won't happen will it?" Magical Android disappeared.

And to Sechiro's horror appeared right next to his bike. The android smirked and blasted the Security Officer causing his bike to skid to a halt and steam to erupt from several vents.

**(Melissa: 2000-SPC: 7) ---- (Sechiro: 0-SPC: 6)**

"Oh yea she won!" Rob shouted jumping up and down.

"Oh ya I didn't doubt her for a second!" Zeke shouted.

Up in the stands Reina grinned. "Good job Mel," she said as she walked up to Alexandria, who drew back slightly.

"Reina always good to see you," she said.

"Cut the crap Alexandria!" Reina shouted and Alexandria flinched. "Mind telling me why your boss is such a cowered that he needs you to spy on us to learn our strategies?"

"He's not a cowered!" Alexandria growled. "Josh is doesn't need me to spy on you and your flunkies, he could crush you any day!"

"Right, I believe that," Reina said rolling her eyes. "Listen you professional bootlicker, stop spying on us, it's starting to bug me."

"And what if I refuse?" Alexandria questioned.

Reina rubbed her chin. "I don't' really know, I'm not big on violence, but just stop spying on us, your actually starting to piss me off," she said as she walked away.

"What an odd girl," muttered Alexandria,

Melissa jumped off her Runner and ran over to her friends. "I did it! I won that means I'm going to get my Duel Runner License!"

"Good job Mel," the other three said in unison.

"Now I suggest we have a party at Rob's house to celebrate!" Reina grinned.

"Why is it always my place?" Rob asked.

"Because you have the biggest house," Zeke answered.

**Josh: Well I finally make my debut, and this story is much better for it.**

**Reina: Right you pompous ass, I'll remember that when we finally square off and I pound you into the dirt.**

**Josh: Bring it on!**

**Zeke: Ok while those two kill each other, I hope you enjoyed the first Turbo Duel of this story.**

**Melissa: Also boss has told us to tell you to tell him if you liked my duel, or any suggestions for improvements.**

**Rob: Ummm ya also Peace doesn't own Yu-gi-oh! In any way shape or form.**

**Reina: Well in the next chapter we get to see Kazuki duel. It's called David and Goliath don't miss it folks.**

**Rob: What I still don't get to duel!**

**Original Card(s)**

Speed Spell – Psychic Charge

Image: Energy from Telekinetic Shocker seeping into Thought Ruler Archfiend.

| Spell | Activate while you control two or more Psychic monsters, and have three or more Speed Counters. Select two Psychic monsters on your side of the field. Until your End Phase one of those monsters gains attack points equal to the other monster's attack points. When your Battle Phase ends you take damage equal to the level of the monster that had it's attack points increased x200.

Speed Spell – Summon Speeder

Image: Dunames Dark Witch surrounded by energy.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 4 or more Speed Counters. Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your hand.

(This card was first used by Hunter Pace/Mukuro Enjo and Yusei and Fudo during Yu-gi-oh 5D's episode 17 Surprise, Surprise. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode (They both used it, but Hunter used it first.)

Speed Spell – Angelic Assistance

Image: The angel from Graceful Charity reaching a hand out to a rider on an out of control Duel Runner.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 4 or more Speed Counters. Draw two cards, if you have no cards in your hand when you play this card draw one extra card.

Scrap Trade In

Image: A truck with the parts of various Machine monsters pulling into a junkyard.

| Trap | Remove from play any number of Machine type monsters from your Graveyard to draw that many cards.


	4. Ch4: David and Goliath

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Four: David and Goliath

Reina's Duel Runner stopped and she got off. Hers was half white and half dark red, the red making up most of the front and the white taking up the back. She didn't wear a riding suit. Her Duel Disk detached from the console and she attached it onto her Wrist Dealer.

She was at Muto Memorial Park. She sighed. "It really sucks when the others have things they have to do and I've got nothing planned. And the fact I'm flat broke means I can't go to Kaiba Land," she muttered.

"Finish him with Absolute Power Force!" Reina heard someone shout.

She turned and saw Josh had just won a duel. _"Hmph of course he had to be here today of all days,"_ she groaned internally.

Josh deactivated his Duel Disk and noticed her. He smirked and walked over to his rival. "Reina good to see you," he said and Reina could almost feel the sarcasm in his voice.

"Good to see you too, Josh," she said through her teeth.

"I'd love to beat the ever loving crap out of you in a duel, but I'm a very busy man," he sneered.

Reina scowled and then smirked. "I bet you are Josh. Are you planning on taking any candy from any helpless babies?" she snickered.

Josh growled. "Are you implying I'm a wimp!" he roared.

"Maybe I am, considering you have your little bootlicker spying on me and my friends, to figure out a counter for our strategies!" Reina snarled.

"Oh so you're implying I'm a cowered, just like your father after he lost to Kalin," Josh laughed.

Reina growled. "Shut your damn mouth. Sure my dad was scared at least he didn't betray his best friend and then run off to the city!"

Josh and Reina both growled as sparks crackled between the two. "Josh sir, we have to go you have an appointment to keep," Alexandria said meekly.

Josh stopped snarling. "Yes thank you for the reminder Alexandria," he muttered. "I'll deal with you later, Black Rose Bitch," he laughed before walking off with Alexandria following him.

"Argh, he really pisses me off!" Reina shouted.

"Yes I could see that, you two have a deep rivalry going on," a cheerful voice said.

"Hmmm, oh Kazuki it's you," Reina said noticing the older boy was standing right next to her. "Ya me and him……well part of me has trouble believing we were friends once upon a time."

Kazuki cocked an eyebrow. "You used to be friends? That must have been one hell of a falling out," the blue haired boy said.

"It's a long story," Reina said.

"And he called you. Well I'd rather not repeat it. You should never speak to a lady that way," Kazuki said.

"Yea and he has a fairly good reason behind why he said that," Reina said looking slightly ashamed.

"Say no more! I won't press the matter," Kazuki grinned. "Now what brings you to Muto Memorial Park today?"

"Oh that, well my friends are busy, and I'm broke so I can't go to Kaiba Land to duel, so I decided to come to the park," the Plant duelist told him.

"Well this is a good place to find an opponent. Myself, I was taking some time to enjoy the scenery and do some sketching," said Kazuki and it was then Reina realize he had a sketch pad tucked under his arm.

"Do you mind if I have a look?" Reina asked.

"Of course I don't mind," Kazuki laughed. "What would be the point would it be creating a great work of art if no one ever saw it."

He handed her the pad and she flipped through the pages. She smiled, it was mostly pictures of Duel Monsters. There were two notable pictures. The first was of Yugi Muto with a Kuriboh floating over his shoulder. The other was of Jaden Yuki with Winged Kuriboh floating over his shoulder.

She flipped the page and gasped. The picture was only partially complete, but it was easy to make out the gist of the creature. It was a Dragon type monster for sure, and it was sort of odd looking, but Reina couldn't help but like it.

"Oh you like my sketch of Niera, it's my favourite," Kazuki said.

"Niera?" muttered Reina as if she hadn't quite heard him right. "It looks like….."

"Yep and once she's complete I'll send her into Industrial Illusions and hopefully it'll be made into a real card," he grinned.

Reina smiled and handed Kazuki back his sketch pad. "I wish you luck and hopefully you'll let me see….her when she's done."

"Oh hey Kaz, you're a fan of Yugi Muto and Jaden Yuki I take it?" she questioned.

"Of course but it's a monster they each posses that interests me. Their Kuribohs, when you think about it Kuriboh and Winged Kuriboh saved both of them many times," Kazuki said.

"Ha, Kuriboh, Kuriboh's are worthless, rats. No calling them rats would be an insult to rats everywhere. They're vermin!" someone laughed.

Kazuki scowled as the person approached. It as a boy who looked about sixteen or seventeen with black hair and greenish blue eyes, he wore a pair of khaki pants and a khaki vest over top of a green t-shirt.

"And who are you?" Kazuki asked.

"I'm Lucian Nerve and I think Kuriboh's aren't worth enough to be drink coasters," the boy laughed.

"And why is that?" Kazuki asked.

"Duh, because they're so weak," scoffed Lucian.

"Haven't you heard the saying, 'blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth'?" Kazuki asked.

"No and that is a complete load of crap!" shouted Lucian. "If the strong are gone, then whatever wiped them out must have taken out the meek."

"Maybe, but I believe that it has some grains of truth, and how about we duel to prove it. I use monsters I use would certainly call meek, for the most part," Kazuki proposed.

"Fine, I use a bunch mega powerful beast. They'll snack on your meek vermin," Lucian laughed.

"_What did Kazuki mean by saying his monsters are mostly meek?"_ Reina asked herself. _"Does that mean he uses a Human Wave Deck?"_

"Duel!" both boys shouted.

**(Kazuki: 8000) ---- (Lucian: 8000)**

"I'll be making the first move," Kazuki said.

"I don't care if you use a bunch of puny little pukes you'll need all the help you can get," Lucian said.

"I set a monster face down and that will be all for my first turn," Kazuki said.

"Ha, ha, ha, ok you're supposed to be the best duelist at Duel Academy and all you do for your first move is set a monster," Lucian laughed. "You must have one crappy opening hand."

"I summon Black Veloci," the monster that ran onto the field wasn't black, in fact to Reina it looked purple, with pink feathers growing out of its arms. (ATK 1800/DEF 300)

"Veloci destroy his face down monster! And when my Veloci attacks it gains 400 attack points," the raptor roared and charged forward. (ATK 1800-2200/DEF 300)

It destroyed Kazuki's face down monster which was a large tomato with a mouth full of sharp teeth and a lolling tongue.

"That was my Mystic Tomato and since he went to the Graveyard because of battle…." Kazuki started.

"I know, I may use Dinosaurs but unlike Rex Raptor I'm not a moron!" Lucian interrupted. "You get to summon a weak Dark monster, so let's see it."

"_I hope this guy isn't as stupid as Rex Raptor, that guy had the subtlety of a wreaking ball,"_ Reina thought.

"Ok, ok no need to be rude," Kazuki said pulling his Deck out of its slot. "I'll call out one of my favourite monsters…..Kuriboh!"

In a flash of dark energy appeared a small ball of brown fur with large purple eyes. (ATK 300/DEF 200)

Reina and Lucian both fell forward with a loud thud. "You _summoned_ Kuriboh, are you a complete freaking moron!?" Lucian shouted.

"No, I have a very good reason for summoning my Kuriboh, and it will be revealed in due time, is that your move?" Kazuki asked.

"No I'll set a card face down and call it a turn," Lucian said.

Kazuki drew and grinned. "Perfect, ok Lucian time for you to meet one of my other favourite monsters!" he declared throwing a card into his Duel Disk.

"I activate Polymerization!" he shouted. "Now I can fuse the Kuriboh on my field with the Winged Kuriboh in my hand to create……"

"Wait!" shouted Reina. "Winged Kuriboh and Kuriboh can fuse?"

"Yep, and actually they can create two different monsters and I choose to create the Fairy type one," Kazuki grinned. "Meet Angel Kuriboh!" some clouds in the sky parted and a bright light shone through. From the sky descended a Kuriboh with white fur and a golden ring over its head, it had a pair of feathered wings and it was holding a golden lyre. (ATK 1100/DEF 900)

Both Lucian and Reina blinked a few times. "It's so….cute," said Reina with hearts appearing in her eyes.

Angel Kuriboh blushed. "Kuri, kuri," it seemed to sing.

"Thank you Reina," Kazuki said.

"Ok it may be cute but my Veloci will still turn it into road kill," Lucian sneered.

Kazuki shook his head. "No it won't because my Angel Kuriboh has a very handy effect. He gains 400 attack points for every Kuriboh monster in my Graveyard, and thanks to his summoning he automatically gains 800 attack points making him stronger than your Dinosaur," Angel Kuriboh began to strum its lyre and a golden aura surrounded it. (ATK 1100-1900/DEF 900)

"Ok buddy take out his ancient lizard with Kuriboh's Lullaby," Angel Kuriboh began to play a tune on its instrument, and the Dinosaur yawned and then quickly fell asleep. (ATK 1800-1400/DEF 300)

"Oh and I knew your Dinosaur gets weaker when it's attacked," Kazuki grinned as his monster flew over to the now sleeping Dinosaur and clocked it with its lyre.

**(Kazuki: 8000) ---- (Lucian: 7500)**

"Ok I'll end my turn by setting a card face down," Kazuki grinned.

"No way, was my monster just defeated by a winged rat!" Lucian growled.

"First thing Angel Kuriboh is not a rat, and I'm pretty sure it just happened," Kazuki said.

"I set this face down and end my turn," Lucian snarled.

Kazuki cocked and eyebrow and then shrugged. "I may not know much about Dinosaur type monsters but I do know that they aren't big on defending."

"I summon Winged Kuriboh Soldier!" in a flash of light appeared a monster that was almost an exact duplicate of Jaden Yuki's spirit partner. The main difference was this one held a small sword. (ATK 1000/DEF 800)

"And he also has a handy effect, if I control another Kuriboh monster then he may strike you directly," Kazuki grinned and Lucian gulped.

"So go my tiny soldier hit him with your Cherub Blade!" the sword wielding Fairy nodded and flew forward and slashed Lucian.

**(Kazuki: 8000) ---- (Lucian: 6500)**

"Now Angel Kuriboh sing our Dinosaur loving friend a little lullaby," the angelic monster began to play the same soothing tune.

The face down monster was revealed to be a large glowing egg hovering above a nest. (ATK 0/DEF 2000)

**(Kazuki: 7900) ---- (Lucian: 6500)**

"Ok what is that?" Kazuki asked.

"That's my Miracle Jurassic Egg, and it looks like its defense is too tough for your rat to handle," Lucian laughed.

"Stop calling my Kuriboh's rats!" Kazuki shouted. "You do realize that since you're insulting them and they're beating you, it reflects pretty badly on you."

"Whatever, your little monsters can't beat me, once I pull out the big guns, you'll be stomped into the ground," Lucian sneered.

"Of course I could always defeat you before you manage to summon any 'big guns'," Kazuki grinned.

"Ha, ha, ha, no Kuriboh loving pansy is going to defeat me!" Lucian laughed.

"I Special Summon Gilasaurus!" a large brown scaled raptor ran onto the field and snarled at Lucian's monsters. (ATK 1400/DEF 400)

"Now you can Special Summon a monster from your Graveyard," Lucian said.

"No thanks," Kazuki said.

"I release my Gilasaurus to call out my Dark Driceratops," Gilasaurus vanished and a larger green scaled Dinosaur, with a pair of feathered wings and a deadly looking beak appeared in its place. (ATK 2400/DEF 1500)

"Hmmm something I've always wondered is why is this guy called Dark Driceratops? It's an Earth attribute monster?" Lucian mused.

"Eh, whatever Driceratops attack his Winged Kuriboh Soldier!" the winged Dinosaur roared and charged forward.

"That won't be happening, I activate a face down card Reina would know well. Go Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" a scarecrow made of junk appeared and the Dinosaur slammed into it.

"And now it sets itself face down, instead of going to the Graveyard," Kazuki smirked.

"Grrr, fine I set a card face down and end my turn," snarled Lucian.

"_Ok so far Kazuki is managing to pull of an odd strategy, no wonder he's called the best at school, and his monsters are adorable,"_ Reina thought.

"Oh, I drew one of my stronger monsters," the Kuriboh duelist muttered. "Ok Lucian I release my Winged Kuriboh Soldier to call out Commander Kuriboh!" the sword wielding Fairy saluted and dissolved into motes of light. AK-(ATK 1900-2300/DEF 900)

Where Winged Kuriboh Soldier used to be another Kuriboh appeared. This one looked more like the original Kuriboh only wearing a helmet like one might see on a military person. (ATK 2100/DEF 1000)

"Too bad he isn't stronger than my Driceratops," Lucian laughed.

"Well as with my other monster the Commander here has an effect and it's potent, he gains 200 for every other Kuriboh in the Graveyard and last I counted I had three," (ATK 2100-2700/DEF 1000)

"Ok Commander attack his Driceratops with Kuriboh Grenade, and Reina you may want to cover your ears," Reina did as she was told and Kazuki did the same. From his helmet Commander Kuriboh produced a small hand grenade shaped not surprisingly like a Kuriboh. The Fiend lobed it at the Dinosaur and it exploded with a loud bang.

**(Kazuki: 7900) ---- (Lucian: 6100)**

"Wow, that was violet considering the monster is a Kuriboh," Reina said.

"Yes, I find it a tad odd as well, but what can you do," Kazuki shrugged.

"Ok Angel Kuriboh you're up, Kuriboh's Lullaby!" the Fairy began to play the tune again.

"Not this time! I activate my face down card, Sakuretsu Armor, so your Kuriboh is gone!" a creepy looking Fiend appeared and charged and Angel Kuriboh, it collided with the hapless Fairy destroying it. (ATK 2700-2900/DEF 1000)

Kazuki scowled and slid a card into his Duel Disk. A single face down card appeared behind Commander Kuriboh.

"I take it by your stunned silence you end you're turn," Lucian smirked.

"I activate Graceful Charity, I doubt I really need to explain this card," the angel appeared next to Lucian and he handed her two cards.

"Now to enact the effect of my Jurassic Egg, you see every time a Dinosaur went to my Graveyard, it gained two counters, and it had four when you ended your last turn but since I just ditched two more, it now has eight, and I can now release it to Special Summon a Dinosaur from my Deck with a level matching the number of counters," he explained.

"_Oh no I can only think of one Dinosaur that's a level eight!"_ Reina thought.

"I release my Jurassic Egg to call out my Ultimate Tyranno!" the egg dissolved into grains of light, that began to take the shape of a massive Dinosaur, with a thick black hide, and huge spikes covering its back. (ATK 3000/DEF 2200)

"And so your scarecrow can't bother me I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" a whirlwind tore across the field blowing Kazuki's Trap card to pixels.

"I almost forgot I haven't Normal Summoned yet, well I can remedy that, by unleashing my Sabersaurus on you!" a Dinosaur that looked like a relative of the triceratops with red scales, charged onto the field. (ATK 1900/DEF 500)

"Ultimate Tyranno show this moron where begin meek gets you!" Ultimate Tyranno roared and swung its tail into the Kuriboh obliterating it.

**(Kazuki: 7800) ---- (Lucian: 6100)**

"Sabersaurus attack him directly!" the other Dinosaur snorted and charged slamming into Kazuki and knocking him backwards.

**(Kazuki: 5900) ---- (Lucian: 6100)**

"Heh, I bet you wish you weren't using your pathetic little Kuribohs now?" Lucian asked.

"Nope I love my Kuribohs and that fact that you trashed my Angel Kuriboh made me angry!" Kazuki growled.

"Ha I'm so scared!" Lucian said mockingly. "Not! I wouldn't be afraid of your rats if you summoned one that was twenty feet tall!"

"Oh ya and I end my turn," he said.

"Not scared of a twenty foot tall Kuriboh, what if I summoned one that was bigger?" the Kuriboh duelist asked.

"Huh, what do you mean?" inquired Lucian.

"I activate Monster Reborn to revive my Commander Kuriboh!" the ankh appeared and from it the soldier Kuriboh appeared. (ATK 2100-2900/DEF 1000)

"Ha, ha, ha, you must suck at math he isn't strong enough," Lucian laughed.

"No _he_ defiantly isn't but I can show you someone who is!" declared Kazuki slapping a monster onto his Duel Disk's tray.

"I call out my Frequency Kuriboh!" the monster that appeared looked odd, by comparison to Kazuki's other monsters. It was a Kuriboh for sure, but it looked more like a Machine type. (ATK 1200/DEF 700)

"Now don't be fooled by this little guy's appearance, he's very much a Fiend type, and he's also a Tuner!" Kazuki grinned.

"What?" Lucian asked. "So you're going to Synchro Summon?"

"Of course and this next guy is one of my strongest monsters!" Kazuki shouted. "I tune my level five, Commander Kuriboh, with my level three Frequency Kuriboh…."

"_Behold the secret weapon of the miniature army, its power can turn the tide of any battle. Now show yourself, Big Kuriboh!_

Frequency Kuriboh became three green rings that surrounded Commander Kuriboh who was turned to orange framework. The stars aligned and produced a brilliant flash of light.

The monster that appeared made Reina gasp at the sight of it, it was defiantly the biggest Kuriboh she had ever seen. It may not have been twenty feet tall but it was certainly bigger than any monster she'd ever seen before. (ATK ?/DEF ?)

"H…h…how are its stats determined?" Lucian asked.

"My friend here gains 500 attack and defense points for every Kuriboh in my Graveyard and in case you hadn't realized I have six!" an aura similar to that of Angel Kuriboh surrounded the massive monster. (ATK ?-3000/DEF ?-3000)

"Ok it isn't strong enough to take out Ultimate Tyranno," Lucian said breathing a sigh of relief.

"That may be true but your Sabersaurus isn't strong enough to survive a battle with my Big Kuriboh,"

"KURI, KURI!" Big Kuriboh roared.

"Ok Big Kuriboh show his not so big Dinosaur the Kuriboh Crush!" Big Kuriboh leapt into the air and came down with a thunderous crash flattening the Dinosaur.

**(Kazuki: 5900) ---- (Lucian: 5000)**

"To end my turn I'll just set card face down," Kazuki grinned.

"I can't believe I'm losing, to a bunch of Kuribohs!" Lucian snarled.

"Ya, everyone says that," Kazuki grinned.

"Grrr, shut up your rats are at the bottom of the evolutionary food chain, and my Dinosaur's are…." Lucian began.

"Extinct, last time I checked Dinosaurs died out millions of years ago, and yet they're very popular, but my Kuriboh's for one thing aren't rats!" Kazuki interrupted. "Rats are vermin, my Kuribohs are not vermin!"

"That's what you say," Lucian muttered.

"And since I can't do anything I'll end my turn."

"Since my turn has begun I'll activate my face down card, Rising Energy, and just by discarding a card from my hand I can increase the attack points of Big Kuriboh by 1500," a fiery aura began to burn around the massive Fiend. (ATK 3000-5000/DEF 3000-3500)

"No way, it has 5000 attack points!" Lucian shouted in disbelief.

"Yes he does, now big guy hit his Dinosaur with your Kuriboh Crush!" the giant Kuriboh launched itself into the air and flattened the Dinosaur.

**(Kazuki: 5900) ---- (Lucian: 3000)**

"No way, I can't be losing this badly to a bunch of Kuriboh's!" Lucian roared.

A second later his phone rung and he growled and pulled it out of his pocket. "Lucian here," he answered. "Right got it boss, I'll be right over."

"Looks like this duel has to be called a draw, I have to go, see you later!" Lucian shouted before deactivating his Duel Disk and running off.

"I'd call that a win for you if you ask me," Reina grinned.

"Yep, another victory for the Kuriboh army," Kazuki said.

-****-

Several hours later at the Fudo residence

Reina was sitting in the living room with her Deck on the table, when something on the T.V. caught her eye.

"EVERYBODY LISTEN!" shouted a familiar voice. A man in a pink jacket with an orange bow tie and a thin moustache appeared on the screen.

"Duelist of New Domino City!" he shouted. "The current head of Sector Security and Dueling King of New Domino has an announcement he'd like to make!"

Reina scowled. Eight years ago a tournament had been held, to decide who would have the title of Dueling King of New Domino City and her father had been defeated in the finals of said tournament.

A man appeared on the screen in place of the MC. He looked like he was in his late thirties with silver hair and black eyes. "Hello residents and duelists of New Domino, Leon Archer here and I have an announcement to make as you've no doubt heard," the man grinned.

"In two short months, a tournament will be held, to see if I'm worthy of keeping my crown," he said.

"Hmmm a tournament, well maybe a certain Fudo can defeat Archer," Reina grinned.

"All are welcome, but make sure to bring your 'A' game, or you won't make it past the first round, good luck," Archer grinned.

"I don't need luck," Reina muttered.

**Zeke: Wow Kuribohs, I bet Seto Kaiba would have a heart attack.**

**Reina: No doubt he really didn't like that little Fiend.**

**Melissa: We got to see Kazuki duel!**

**Rob: Ya, ya that's all well and good but next chapter I finally get to duel!**

**Zeke: You heard him right folks the Blackwings will make there debut next chapter stay tuned.**

**Reina: It's called: Keeping it all Natural, don't miss it!**

**Original Cards**

Angel Kuriboh

Light | Level 4 | Fairy/Fusion/Effect | 1100/900 | Kuriboh + Winged Kuriboh. This card gains 400 attack points for every 'Kuriboh' and 'Winged Kuriboh' monster in your Graveyard.

Winged Kuriboh Soldier

Light | Level 3 | Fairy/Effect | 1000/800 | If you control another 'Kuriboh' or 'Winged Kuriboh' monster this card may attack your opponent directly.

Commander Kuriboh

Dark | Level 5 | Fiend/Effect | 2100/1000 | This card gains 200 attack points for every 'Kuriboh' and 'Winged Kuriboh' monster in your Graveyard.

Frequency Kuriboh

Dark | Level 3 | Fiend/Tuner | 1200/700 | When this card is Normal Summoned you may Special Summon one level three or lower 'Kuriboh' or 'Winged Kuriboh' monster from your Graveyard, in defense mode. Its effect(s) are negated.

Big Kuriboh

Dark | Level 8 | Fiend/Synchro/Effect | ?/? | 1 'Kuriboh' Tuner monster + 1 or more non-Tuner monster(s). This card's attack and defense are equal to the number of 'Kuriboh' and 'Winged Kuriboh' monsters in your Graveyard x500.


	5. Ch5: Keeping it all Natural

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Five: Keeping it all Natural

The four friends were once again walking out of school and wondering what to do. "So what should we do?" Rob asked.

"No clue Rob, what do you propose?" Reina asked.

"Well dueling would be a good idea, we need to be in top form if one of us is going to be crowned King, or Queen," Zeke said.

"So should we head to the park or Kaiba Land?" Melissa asked.

"I think the park would be a better idea, it doesn't cost any money to go there," Reina said.

"Sounds like a plan," Zeke grinned. "We'll meet up at the park for some dueling practice, that way I can be crowned Duel King of New Domino."

"In your dreams Zeke, I'll be the King!" Rob declared.

"Puh-lease you can't beat me in a duel normally, how will you do with everyone in the city watching," Zeke scoffed.

"Ok you two, I see one major problem with your theories," Reina grinned.

"And what would that be?" both boys asked in unison.

"I'm going to be crowned Queen, it's in my blood," Reina laughed.

"You'll have to beat me for that title Reina," Zeke challenged.

"And me!" Rob chimed in.

"And Mel, do you not care about being crowned Dueling Queen of New Domino?" asked Reina.

"Well it certainly would be cool, but I can't beat any of you three," Melissa sighed. "I probably won't make it past round one."

"Ugh, Mel you can't be so down on yourself I may not fully understand what it means, but always remember what the King of Games said, 'Believe in the Heart of the Cards!'" Reina said.

-****-

Later at Muto Memorial Park

The group arrived and all of them grinned. Apparently word of the tournament had spread fast, several duels were either just beginning or just finishing.

"Robert Hogan?" someone asked.

The quartet turned and saw a girl about their age with shoulder length red hair and brown eyes, in a brown skirt and t-shirt with a picture of a tree on it.

"Oh hey, Ami how've you been?" Rob asked nonchalantly.

"Pretty good, I came to get some duel practice, and I take it you four are as well?" Ami asked.

"Ya pretty much, up for some practice, against a real opponent?" Rob asked with a grin.

"Who is she?" Melissa asked.

"That's Ami Mukuro, she's a member of Josh's group, strangely enough she isn't like any of them," Reina explained. "Her and Rob have a bit of a friendly rivalry going."

"What kind of Deck does she use?" Melissa questioned.

"A strange one to say the least, her monsters look so…..unusual but if she uses them right, they're deadly," Reina answered.

**(Rob: 8000) ---- (Ami: 8000)**

"Ok Ami, just to show you chivalry isn't dead yet, I'll let you make the first move," Rob offered.

"Thank you Robert, and I'll start off with a monster on the defensive and a card face down," Ami said.

Rob drew and grinned. "Oh ya now I can bring out the original dream team, give it up for Blackwing – Bora the Spear!" in a burst of darkness, a creature flew onto the field.

It was a humanoid creature, with a head like a bird holding a large black spear shaped like a drill. (ATK 1700/DEF 800)

"Now thanks to his effect I can Special Summon Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind!" in another burst of darkness Rob's next monster streaked onto the field.

In was another humanoid bird creature, this one was less humanoid than Bora, with green feathers covering its head and black feathers covering its body. (ATK 1300/DEF 400)

"Bora attack her face down monster with Death Spiral!" Bora chuckled somewhat psychotically and then flew into the air and then dove down destroying what appeared to be a huge square chunk of rock.

"Thanks to Bora's first effect even though your monster was in defense mode you still lose Life Points," Rob explained.

**(Rob: 8000) ---- (Ami: 7300)**

"Well you just took out my Naturia Cliff, so I can Special Summon anther level four or lower Naturia monster from my Deck in attack mode, and I think I'll chose this cute little critter, meet Naturia Beetle!" from the ground emerged a large beetle, but it's body was an acorn and its head was made of wood. (ATK 400/DEF 1800)

"It's so cute, for an Insect type," Melissa said.

"Ya, just about every monster in her Deck is like that, but they can be vicious," Zeke muttered.

"Hmmm, that face down could be a bluff, or something to take out Gale or Bora," Rob said rubbing his chin. "Gale attack Dark Windstorm!" Gale began to flap his wings firing blades of wind at Ami's monster.

"Oh this card isn't a bluff, it's my Rush Recklessly card!" the card flipped open and Rob gasped.

"But that means….." he started.

"My Beetle's attack and defense points switch then it gets a power boost," (ATK 400 = 1800-2500/DEF 1800 = 400)

The odd looking bug deflected the attack and charged Gale destroying the Winged-Beast.

**(Rob: 6800) ---- (Ami: 7300)**

"Man that's a pretty big hit for Rob this early," Melissa said.

"Yep, and yet somehow he manages to beat her almost every single time," Zeke grinned.

"Ugh, well that sucks, I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Rob muttered. (ATK 2500-1800/DEF 400)

"Now to bring out a good friend of mine, say hello to Naturia Mantis!" from behind Ami appeared another Insect, this one was naturally a large mantis but like Naturia Beetle it looked cartoonish. It had leaves for claws and flowers on the ends of its antenna. (ATK 1700/DEF 1500)

"Ok Naturia Beetle attack his Bora with Natural Charge!" the cartoonish bug ran forward and slammed into the avian creature.

**(Rob: 6700) ---- (Ami: 7300)**

"Naturia Mantis get him!" the mantis ran forward and raised its arms.

"Hold up I activate Call of the Haunted so Bora is back!" the ground burst open and Bora flew out.

"Oh well, I'll call off my Mantis' attack and end my turn with a face down card," Ami chuckled.

"So this is what a friendly rivalry looks like," Melissa mused.

"Yes unlike Reina and Josh, these two just enjoy themselves, not set up some kind of crazy bet," Zeke said.

"Crazy bet?" Melissa parroted.

"I'll explain it later," Reina told her.

"Ok Ami it's time for me to make a come back!" Rob shouted. "I summon Blackwing – Mistral the Silver Shield." The newest monster was another bird like one. It had a black body, and wore a large silver mask. (ATK 100/DEF 1800)

"Hold up Robert, since you just Normal Summoned I can Special Summon the Tuner monster Naturia Cosmos Beet!" from behind Ami appeared a large black spherical monster with three flowers growing out of its head. (ATK 1000/DEF 700)

"Ok Synchro Summon time!" declared Rob. "I tune my level two, Mistral the Silver Shield with my level four, Bora the Spear….."

"_The fierce dark winds buffer the enemy with your unrelenting force! Synchro Summon and soar Blackwing Armed Wing!"_

Mistral flew into the air and became two Synchro gates. Bora flew through and became framework. And instead of a burst of light a burst of darkness occurred.

From the Synchro Summon emerged another humanoid bird creature. This one wore black armor on its legs arms and chest, it also carried a shotgun. (ATK 2300/DEF 1000)

"Ok Armed Wing attack her Cosmos Beet with Dark Tornado!" Armed Wing streaked into the air and took aim.

But before he could fire Ami's face down card flipped open. "Reverse card open!" she shouted. "Urgent Tuning, now I can Synchro Summon during the Battle Phase!"

"Oh crap six stars worth of monsters," Rob muttered.

"I tune my level four, Naturia Beetle, with my level two, Naturia Cosmos Beet….." Ami began.

"_Oh great knight of Mother Earth, charge into battle to defend nature! Synchro Summon, gallop into the fray, Gaia Knight the Force of Earth!"_

Naturia Cosmos Beet jumped into the air and became two green rings, Naturia Beetle followed close behind and was reduced to orange framework.

The new monster looked remarkably similar to Yugi Muto's Gaia the Fierce Knight, but the most notable difference was this monster was mechanical. (ATK 2600/DEF 800)

"Ami, mind telling me why, you've never summoned Naturia Balkion in any of our duels?" Rob asked.

"Well Robert, I kind of don't have a copy," Ami said. "It's a really rare card."

"Wait, Naturia Balkion, I have a copy of that, I'll trade you," Melissa said.

"Thank you," Ami said. "Ok Robert a replay has been triggered, what will you do?"

"Attack your Mantis!" Armed Wing nodded and unleashed a hail of gunfire at the helpless Insect.

**(Rob: 6700) ---- (Ami: 6700)**

"And I'll set a card face down and call it a turn," Rob sighed.

"I summon Naturia Horneedle," from the forest a large hornet appeared. But like the other Naturia monsters it looked strange. It had two leaves for wings and like Naturia Mantis, two flowers for antenna. (ATK 1800/DEF 100)

"Gaia attack his Armed Wing with Double Lance Strike!" Gaia Knight charged and the leapt into the air impaling Blackwing Armed Wing.

**(Rob: 6400) ---- (Ami: 6700)**

"Ok Horneedle you're up, direct attack!" the giant hornet flew forward.

"Hold it right there!" Rob shouted. "I'm activating the effect of Blackwing – Ghibli the Hot Wind in my hand, since you just declared a direct attack, I can Special Summon him, in defense mode obviously." From another burst of darkness appeared a large black bird with six wings. (ATK 0/DEF 1600)

"Ok Horneedle attack Ghibli!" the giant bug shrugged and stung Ghibli causing him to cry out and shatter like glass.

"I'll end my turn," Ami grinned.

"I activate Black Whirlwind!" a swirling vortex of black feather kicked up behind Rob. "Now I activate Pot of Greed!" the grinning jar appeared and Rob snapped two cards of the top of his Deck.

"Now I summon Blackwing Sirocco the Dawn with no releases since I have no monsters and well you do," another humanoid bird creature appeared. This one looked similar to Bora, only with blue plumage on its head and no lance. (ATK 2000/DEF 900)

"Now the effect of my Black Whirlwind activates and I can add a Blackwing monster from my Deck to my hand, so long as its attack points are lower than Sirocco's," he said.

The swirling vortex of feathers became to spin faster and spat out a card. "Now I can activate the effect of the monster I just added to my hand! Rob shouted.

"Meet the newest member of my team, Blackwing – Breeze the Gentle Wind come forth!" true to the name a gentle wind blew past the two duelists. Then a small creature took to the air, it appeared to be female, with orange-pink feathers covering her body and yellow feathers covering her wings. (ATK 1100/DEF 300)

"Wow, a female Blackwing monster, never thought I'd see the day," Reina grinned.

"I'm not done yet," Rob smirked. "You see Breeze here, is very prideful of her tribe and won't allow herself to Synchro Summon anything other than a Blackwing Synchro monster, so I activate Level Retuner, and lower Sirocco to a level four monster!" a blast of electricity flew from the Trap and struck Sirocco. (LVL: 5-4)

"Now I tune my level three, Breeze with my now level four, Sirocco….."

"_Dark gales lift the wings that will soar forth to unreachable heights! Synchro Summon and take flight, Blackwing Armor Master!"_

Breeze flew into the air and became three Synchro rings and Sirocco flew into them. Another burst of darkness was produced this one larger than the last.

"Hold up Robert, I activate Limit Reverse to call back my Cosmos Beet in attack mode!" the spherical Tuner monster reappeared.

"He won't help you this time!" shouted Rob. His newest monster was covered almost completely in black armor with orange lines. (ATK 2500/DEF 1500)

"I activate my Horneedle's effect, and release my Cosmos Beet to destroy your Armor Master!" Cosmos Beet dissolved into grains of light and the hornet flew forward and stung Armor Master, causing him to shatter.

Rob looked stunned to say the least. "Whoa, you toasted Armor Master before I even got a chance to make use of him."

"Since I only have one card left in my hand, I'll set it and end my turn," he sighed.

Ami drew and grinned. "Gaia, Horneedle go in for a double direct attack!" the two monsters rushed forward.

"Reveal Trap card!" Rob shouted. "Negate Attack!" a swirling barrier stopped both monsters in their tracks.

"Oh well I'll just end my turn," Ami grinned.

Rob drew and his eyes widened. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot, so be both draw three cards," the Pot of Greed appeared again and both duelists drew three times.

"I activate Premature Burial, and use it to revive Sirocco!" the ground split open again and Sirocco the Dawn, flew into the air shaking the dirt off himself.

**(Rob: 5600) ---- (Ami: 6700)**

"Now I summon Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North!" another avian creature flew onto the field. This one looked somewhat like a seagull. (ATK 1300/DEF 0)

"To choose not to activate his effect, and instead I activate the Spell card, Synchro Boost," Rob said. "Now Blizzard gains 500 attack points and one level," a blue electrical aura began to gather around Blizzard. (ATK 1300-1800/DEF 0) (LVL: 2-3)

"Now I tune my level five, Sirocco the Dawn, and my now level three, Blizzard the Far North….."

"Level eight?" Zeke said. "What monster other than Silverwind does Rob have that's level eight?"

"Do you think he finally won Blackfeather Dragon from his dad?" Reina wondered.

"_A choking dark fog blankets the battlefield, and none are safe from its deadly effect! Synchro Summon, and spread your wings, Dark End Dragon!"_

Blizzard flew into the air becoming three green rings. Sirocco flew into them and was reduced to framework.

Instead of light or darkness, this time a black fog was produced. The fog slowly began to take the shape of a Dragon, with pitch black scales, and a face on its stomach. (ATK 2600/DEF 2100)

"When did you get him Robert?" Ami asked.

"About a week or so ago, he was one lucky pull," Rob grinned. "But now I'm activating his effect, and it is deadly, he permanently looses 500 attack and defense points but, he well, sends a monster you control to the Graveyard. Go Dark Evaporation on Gaia Knight!"

The second mouth of Dark End Dragon opened and released a wave of black mist that caused Gaia Knight to melt. (ATK 2600-2100/DEF 2100-1600)

"Now Dark End, attack her Naturia Horneedle with Dark Fog!" the main head of the wicked Dragon opened its maw and spewed a wave of choking black fog that caused the hornet to start coughing before it shattered.

**(Rob: 5600) ---- (Ami: 6400)**

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Rob grinned.

Ami drew and scowled. "Not much I can do, I'll set a monster and end my turn," she sighed.

"I summon Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame!" in a burst of dark blue fire another humanoid bird creature flew into the air. It had grey and dark blue feathers covering most of its body and slightly lighter blue feathers covering its head. (ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"I activate Dark End's effect again, Dark Evaporation!" the second mouth released another wave of black mist, destroying Ami's face down monster. (ATK 2100-1600/DEF 1600-1100)

"Now I activate Forbidden Chalice!" Rob said. "This negates the effect of one monster but in return it gains 400 attack points, and I choose my Dark End Dragon," an eldritch aura began to surround the wicked Dragon. (ATK 1600-3000/DEF 1100-2100)

"Dark End Dragon and Shura attack Ami's Life Points directly!" Dark End Dragon fired a blast of black fog, and Shura streaked forward and racked Ami with his claws.

**(Rob: 5600) ---- (Ami: 1600)**

"That was a huge hit!" Melissa gasped.

"That's nothing, when we were younger Rob, actually defeated a bully with an OTK, the guy cried," Zeke snickered.

"Ok Ami, I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Rob grinned. (ATK 3000-2600/DEF 2100)

"Don't think you have me beat yet Robert, I have a plan and it starts with my face down card! My Call of the Haunted, so be reborn Gaia Knight!" the ground exploded and Gaia Knight jumped out.

"Now I activate Lightning Vortex, I just discard a card, and all your face up monsters are destroyed," lightning rained from the sky vaporizing both of Rob's monsters.

"Now I summon Naturia Stinkbug," another cartoonish Insect skittered onto the field. This one was dark green with leaves on the ends of its legs. (ATK 200/DEF 500)

"Now I tune my level six, Gaia Knight, with my level three, Naturia Stinkbug……" Ami began.

"A level nine Synchro monster, what is it!?" Melissa shouted.

"Trouble," Reina muttered.

"_When the blood of Mother Nature is spilled, her strongest guardian awakens and unleashes his fury! Synchro Summon, and roar Naturia Leodrake!"_

Naturia Stinkbug became three rings and they surrounded Gaia Knight.

A bloodthirsty roar was heard before the monster was even seen. It was huge, towering over both duelists easily, its body was covered by green leaves, and its mane was made of sunflower petals. (ATK 3000/DEF 1800)

"Leodrake attack Robert directly, with Nature's Fury!" the massive lion roared and smacked Rob with its paw sending him flying back.

**(Rob: 2600) ---- (Ami: 1600)**

Rob stood up and dusted himself off. "Man that's why I'm a dog person," he laughed.

"I'll end my turn Robert," Ami grinned.

Rob drew and smiled. "Well Ami looks like I win this one."

Ami only cocked and eyebrow.

"I activate Magical Stone Excavation and ditch two cards from my hand, to retrieve a Spell card in my Graveyard, and I pick Premature Burial," a card fell out of Rob's Graveyard and he slid it into his Duel Disk.

"Now I play it and revive Dark End Dragon!" the ground erupted again and this time the wicked Dragon flew out.

**(Rob: 1800) ---- (Ami: 1600)**

"Now I'll use his effect once more, go Dark Evaporation!" the Dragon seemed to laugh as the lion dissolved into nothing. (ATK 2600-2100/DEF 2100-1600)

"Ok Dark End finish this duel, Dark Fog!" the wicked Dragon threw back its head and spewed a torrent of black fog that slammed into Ami.

**(Rob: 1800) ---- (Ami: 0)**

"Oh well that was a fun duel," Ami grinned as she stood up.

"As always," Rob said with a grin.

Ami reached into her backpack and pulled out a binder. "So what will you trade Balkion for?" she asked Melissa.

Melissa flipped through the binder. "Whoa, what is this!" she gasped pulling a monster from the binder.

"You know I have no clue, I pulled it from a pack and asked the guy at the counter about it and he just said, 'it's the next generation of monster,'" Ami explained.

Melissa looked at the monster card for a moment. "Would you be willing to trade, Naturia Balkion for this guy?" she asked.

"Of course I have no use for it," Ami said as the two girls swapped cards.

-****-

Location unknown

In the dark office sat the person who was normally working at the computer. Right now they were talking to someone.

"An employee of mine tells me you're the best?" the person asked.

The person who'd just been spoken two was dressed in a black suit, with a top hat and a flowing black and red cape, with a mask covering the top part of their face. Except for the mask the person looked like the man on the Misfortune Spell card.

"Yes of course, I'm the best Duel Assassin my organization has to hire," the masked person said with a nasty grin.

"Good, good well I want you to duel these two," the mysterious person said handing the masked man two photos. One was of Reina the other was of Josh.

"Two children?" the masked man asked. "I'm supposed to duel two children, sorry but my organization prefers not to kill children."

"I don't want them dead….well not yet anyway," the mysterious person said. "No I can do that myself when the time is right. No I want you to duel them and you must make sure they summon two specific monsters."

"And what monsters would those be?" the masked man asked.

"Reina must use Black Rose Dragon and Josh must use Red Dragon Archfiend," the mysterious person said.

"Is that all?" the masked man asked. "It shouldn't be two hard to defeat them, do you care if I take possession of those two cards when I beat those kids?"

"Hmmm, no go ahead, I have no use for them," the mysterious person said.

"Oh yes and before you leave," the mysterious person said pulling a drawer of their desk open. They pulled four Duel Monsters cards out. "Take these, they'll make your Deck unbeatable."

The masked man took the cards and looked at them for a second then nodded and walked out of the room and Miranda stepped out from the shadows and smirked. "Do you think he'll really be able to beat either of those two?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, he is supposed to be the best is organization has to offer, but so long as they summon their ace monster's I don't care," the mysterious person smirked.

**Zeke: Well it's good to see that not all of Josh's flunkies are jerks.**

**Reina: No what Josh looks for is powerful duelists and Ami is powerful.**

**Rob: Maybe she'll join us?**

**Josh: Not likely loser.**

**Melissa: It's final time! **

**Rob: Reina and Josh are about to square off.**

**Alexandria: I'm sorry but I won't let you waste Josh's time.**

**Reina: Well the next chapter is called Fighting Fate don't miss it folks!**


	6. Ch6: Fighting Fate

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Six: Fighting Fate

The same night after Rob had dueled Ami Reina was sitting on her bed reading a comic. She closed the book and sighed. "Ugh when is the next issue and the issue after that coming out," she groaned.

"_You've go mail!"_ a computerized voice said.

Reina walked over to her computer and brought up her mailbox. "Hmmm, a challenge from Josh, sounds fun," she grinned.

She read the email over. "Tomorrow after school," she muttered. "Well looks like I'll finally prove I'm the best," she smirked.

-****-

The next day…after school

"So we have to head to the New Domino Docks so you can take Josh on in a Turbo Duel?" Rob asked.

"Yes, Rob I just explained that about ten seconds ago," said Reina.

"Just making sure," the orange haired boy muttered.

"So head home, get your Runner and then meet up at my house," Reina explained and the other three nodded.

-****-

Several minutes later at the Fudo residence

Reina ran into her room, and quickly got changed and bolted down to the garage. Her father was working on a Duel Runner, more than likely for a customer. "Hey, dad," she said.

"Hello, Reina how was school?" Yusei asked.

"Pretty much the same as every day," Reina muttered jumping on her Runner.

"Going to challenge Josh?" the Head mark Signer asked.

"Yes, and this should be our last duel," Reina grinned.

Yusei seemed like he was going to say something for a second. "Good luck," he said.

"Come on Reina!" Rob shouted. "Let's get a move on!"

"Thanks dad," Reina said before driving off.

-****-

The New Domino City docks

The group activated the security system on their bikes after locking them up. "So where do we go?" Melissa asked.

Reina pointed to a building that was smaller than the surrounded warehouses. It was grey like everything else, but attached above the door was a large sign with a huge red letter 'A' on it.

"Josh always was the king of subtlety," Zeke said sarcastically.

The group walked over to the building and knocked on the door. It swung open but a person they weren't expecting to open it. It was Alexandria.

"What are you four doing here?" she asked.

"Your boss sent me a challenge, I'm here to mop the floor with him," Reina replied.

"Hmph, well he had a sudden schedule change, so he won't be back for a while," Alexandria said.

"Ok then can we come in and wait?" Melissa asked.

"No," Alexandria said flatly. "We don't allow witches in."

Reina snarled and grabbed the other girl's collar. She lifted her off her feet and slammed her into the wall, causing Alexandria to gasp.

"What….did…you just call me?" Reina asked threateningly.

Alexandria only managed a terrified whimper. Zeke put a hand on Reina's shoulder. "Calm down Reina," he said softly.

Reina took a few deep breaths and let go of Alexandria. "How long will Josh be gone?" Rob asked.

"A….a…about another half an hour," Alexandria said.

"Ok well you can still duel right?" Rob asked.

"Of course, I've been practicing with Josh and the others," Alexandria said.

"Good because in all honesty Alexandria when we dueled I, well crushed you," Reina smirked.

"I got bad draws!" Alexandria protested.

"Just admit it, someone with the last name Trudge can never beat someone with the last name Fudo," Reina smirked.

"Oh!" Alexandria growled. "I'll show you Reina Fudo! I'll beat him and prove I've gotten better!" she said pointing to Zeke.

The Fiend duelist just shrugged. "Sure I'm not scared of you Alexandria," he said pulling his Duel Disk onto his arm. "I don't know if what Reina said was totally true, but I do know this, she crushed you…badly."

Alexandria stepped out of the building and pulled her Duel Disk on. "I'll show you!" she shouted. "Josh has been training me! I'm his best duelist!"

"Then, game on!" Zeke shouted.

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Alexandria: 8000)**

"Think Zeke has ulterior motives?" Rob whispered to Melissa and Reina.

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked.

"Well before Zeke's dad went Dark Signer, Sector Security treated him pretty badly," Reina answered. "They routinely beat him, they locked him away all by himself, and worst of all they torched his Deck."

"Guy, I assure you, I've learned from my parents' mistakes," Zeke said. "Revenge solves nothing, it only breeds more revenge."

"That was very sagely," Melissa said.

"Ok Alexandria, I'm a gentleman, well normally, so I'll let you go first," Zeke said.

"Thank you, but that will prove to be your undoing Zeke," Alexandria smirked as she drew her sixth card.

"I set this face down and then set a monster on the defensive and end my turn," Alexandria grinned.

"Hmmm, that was a pretty basic opening move," Zeke muttered. "But against me basic just won't cut it!"

"Ok Alexandria, prepare to enter the Demon's Den!" Zeke declared as his Field Spell slot opened up. "Welcome to Pandemonium!" the docks vanished and Zeke and Alexandria were now standing in a very frightening place. The sky was pitch black, they were surrounded by demonic statues and in the center of the field was bubbling pool of magma.

"Welcome to the place my Archfiends feel most at home," Zeke grinned. "While we're here, we no long have to pay the cost required for Archfiend monsters, and if you destroy one of them by card effect I can take a lower levelled one from my Deck and add it to my hand."

"Ok enough explaining, time to rumble! I call out one of the residents of this place, meet Shadowknight Archfiend!" from the pool of magma a wicked looking creature appeared. It had long blue hair and glowing red eyes, it appeared to be donned in bone armor, with the head of a horse making up the chest plate, and it had a sword and a demonic looking shield in place of hands. (ATK 2000/DEF 1600)

"Shadowknight attack her face down monster with Hellfire Blade!" the sword arm of the Fiend ignited and it slashed the face down monster in two.

"That was my Apprentice Magician and when she bites the dust, I get to Special Summon a level two or lower Spellcaster from my Deck, and I choose this one," a face down monster appeared in front of Alexandria.

"Hmm, probably another Apprentice Magician, oh well, I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Zeke said.

Alexandria drew and grinned. "Zeke you were totally wrong on what monster I set, and I'll flip her face up!" Alexandria shouted. The monster was a woman in a yellow dress, with grey skin wielding a deadly looking staff, with a yellow crystal at one end and huge curved blade at the other. (ATK ?/DEF ?)

"Meet my Fortune Lady Light!" Alexandria grinned.

"Ok, I've never heard of a Fortune Lady monster, are they a set?" Zeke asked.

"Why, yes and they were used by Josh's mother….when she was a Dark Signer," Alexandria replied.

A large drop of set rolled down the other's heads. "Eh, so what, my dad and I both use monsters and cards he used when he was a Dark Signer, they're just really rare," Zeke shrugged.

"Yes and so are these cards, when I dueled Reina I only had Light but Josh bought the others for me," Alexandria explained.

"Oh yes and Light's attack points are 200 times her level which is currently one," (ATK 0-200/DEF 0-200)

"Ok enough witty banter time to start kicking your butt!" she shouted. "I activate Magical Dimension and since I have a Spellcaster I can release a monster on my side of the field to call out another from my hand," a large coffin like device appeared behind Alexandria and Light jumped inside of it.

"Now I can do two things actually," Alexandria smirked. "First my Magical Dimension's effect activates and I can call out my all time favourite monster, the** Dark Magician Girl**!" from the coffin came a flurry of hearts and colours, and then one of the most well known monsters floated onto the field. She had blonde hair and was dressed similarly to the Dark Magician. (ATK 2000/DEF 1700)

"No freaking way!" Rob shouted. "She has a copy of the Dark Magician Girl!"

"Apparently," Reina muttered.

Zeke cocked and eyebrow. "Heh, I have to trash her, that'll make me feel bad in the morning, luckily tomorrow is Saturday and I'm never up before noon."

"Well she isn't the only girl you'll be seeing, nor will you be destroying her!" Alexandria grinned. "For now Light's effect activates and I get another Fortune Lady from my Deck, so meet Fortune Lady Fire!" in a burst of flames another woman appeared. She looked a lot like Light only her dress, hair and gem of her staff were red. (ATK ?/DEF ?)

"Ok first things first things first," Alexandria smirked. "Fire's first effect is the same as Light, difference is she's level two," (ATK 0-400/DEF 0-400)

"Then her other effect activates and she can now toast one of your monsters and deal it's attack points out of your Life Points," Fire twirled her staff and launched a blast of energy at the wicked monster.

It seemed to freeze in mid air and Zeke smirked. "Sorry Alexandria, no guarantee that effect will work. You see if you target my Archfiends I can activate an effect they all have, Hell Roulette, and if that roulette lands on the number three for my Shadowknight well your monster will be destroyed and her effect negated."

From the lava emerged six spheres, they had one to six printed on them. A ball of flame covered the ball marked one and began to move along them.

It stopped on five and Zeke scowled. The stream of energy struck Zeke's monster causing it to shatter and then the bolt continued and struck Zeke.

**(Zeke: 6000) ---- (Alexandria: 8000)**

"I choose to add my Desrook Archfiend to my hand!" Zeke shouted.

"Now Dark Magician Girl and Fire attack him directly!" the two female Spellcasters aimed their staves and fired blasts of energy at Zeke.

"Reveal face down card!" Zeke roared. "My Defense Draw will reduce the damage from your Dark Magician Girl's attack to zero and I get to draw once."

Zeke tore a card off the top of his Deck as the one blast bounced off him and the other slammed into him causing him to grunt.

**(Zeke: 5600) ---- (Alexandria: 8000)**

"Dear god, he's taken twenty-four hundred points of damage already!" Melissa said.

"She really has improved, she barely scratched my Life Points," Reina muttered.

"I'll end my turn," Alexandria grinned.

Zeke drew and grinned causing his friends to shudder. "Ok Alexandria I'm going to prove I'm a nice guy and give your Dark Magician Girl a present," he smirked.

Alexandria gulped. "What do you mean, a present?" she asked.

"The equip card Axe of Despair!" a large ugly looking axe appeared in place of the Dark Magician Girl's staff. (ATK 2000-3000/DEF 1700)

"It makes her stronger than her master, but now she's mine!" Zeke declared.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Alexandria asked.

"I play Falling Down!" he grinned. "You see this card is destroyed when I lack an Archfiend."

"But you have no monsters!" Alexandria protested.

"You're thinking of my Terrorking, he requires Archfiend _monsters_," Zeke grinned. "But you see Falling Down merely needs an Archfiend period, and my Axe is counted as an Archfiend," a black aura began to surround the more powerful female Spellcaster and she floated over to Zeke's side.

"Don't worry, I'm not so heartless as to attack you with your own monster, but I must now bid her adieu," the Dark Magician Girl dissolved into motes of black light.

From the pool of bubbling magma red mist began to seep out. It slowly started to take the shape of a Fiend. It body was for the most part like any other Archfiend only the bony armor was jet black, and it had no legs. (ATK 2400/DEF 0)

"Meet my Mist Archfiend, he has an effect, but it doesn't apply right now," Zeke explained. "Mist Archfiend destroy her Fortune Lady with Corroding Mist!" the Fiend chuckled and blasted the hapless Spellcaster with fog causing her to melt.

**(Zeke: 5600) ---- (Alexandria: 6000)**

"Reveal face down card!" Alexandria shouted. "My Inherited Fortune Trap card, now since one of my Fortune Ladies was destroyed during my next Standby Phase I can Special Summon up to two from my Hand."

"Hmmm ok I wish you'd told me you were using these girls," Zeke said. "I'd have used my Infernity cards."

"But that's beside the point for now, I'll end my turn with a face down card," he muttered.

"Then my turn begins and I call out Fortune Lady Dark and Wind!" in a burst of darkness then wind two more Fortune Ladies appeared.

They looked similar to their sisters, except the colour of their hair, dress and gems which was purple and green respectively. (ATK ?/DEF ?)x 2

"Ok first up is Dark her attack and defense points are 400 times her level and she's a level five," (ATK 0-2000/DEF 0-2000) "Then there's Wind her stats are 300 times her level and she's a level three monster," (ATK 0-900/DEF 0-900)

"Now I activate Graceful Charity, I doubt I really need to explain this card," the angel appeared and Alexandria handed her two cards.

"Ok I see one small problem, both your monsters are much too weak to defeat my Archfiend," Zeke said.

"I know, that's why I have this, Synchro Boost equipped to Dark!" a blue electric aura began to surround Dark and she smirked. "Ok this is about to get slightly complicated, since your feather brained friend uses this card, you already know my Dark gains one level and 500 attack points, so she really gains 400 defense points and 900 attack points," (ATK 2000-2900/DEF 2000-2400)

"Dark attack his Archfiend with Dark Fate!" Dark fired a blast of pure darkness, oddly enough Mist Archfiend didn't seem to be in pain when it died.

**(Zeke: 5100) ---- (Alexandria: 6000)**

"Oh and Dark has a useful effect, when she sends one of your monsters to the Graveyard I can Special Summon a Fortune Lady monster from my Graveyard, so give a big hello for Fortune Lady Water!" in a burst of bubbles another female Spellcaster appeared. She looked just like her sisters only her hair was blue as were the gem of her staff and her dress. (ATK ?/DEF ?)

"Ok first, she gains as much as Wind only she's a level four," (ATK 0-1200/DEF 0-1200)

"Plus she too has an effect and since she was Special Summoned now I get to draw twice, since she isn't the only one of her sisters on the field," Water began to glow and Alexandria snapped two cards off the top of her Deck.

"Now Water, Wind, attack him directly!" both Spellcasters fired bolts of energy at Zeke.

"Go, Archfiend's Roar!" Mist Archfiend suddenly appeared out of nowhere and deflected both spells. "Here's how it works, I pay 500 Life Points and for this turn Mist Archfiend is back, but he may not be released and he'll die when the turn is over," Zeke explained.

**(Zeke: 4600) ---- (Alexandria: 6000)**

"Alright looks like I can't do much, so I'll end my turn," Alexandria sighed and Mist Archfiend cried out in pain and then shattered.

"I'll use my Pandemonium's effect to add Terrorking Archfiend to my hand," a card fell out of Zeke's Deck and he smirked.

"Now I'll set a monster and a face down and end my turn," he said.

Alexandria drew and smirked. "Ok now the effects of my Fortune Ladies activate and they all gain one level," all three of the female Spellcasters began to glow. (ATK 2900-3300/DEF 2400-2800) (ATK 900-1200/DEF 900-1200) (ATK 1200-1500/DEF 1200-1500)

"She has a monster stronger than Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Melissa shouted.

"She hasn't lost control of this duel for more than a turn," Rob said.

"I must admit she really has improved," Reina muttered.

"Water attack his face down monster, Drowning Doom!" Water fired a blast of water at Zeke's face down monster revealing Terrorking Archfiend. (ATK 2000/DEF 1500)

"Look like my monster's defense was as strong as your monster's offence," Zeke smirked.

"Ok fine Dark attack his Terrorking with Dark Fate!" Dark fired her lethal spell blasting Terrorking to pixels.

"OK Wind hit him directly with….." Alexandria began.

"Hold up!" Zeke shouted cutting her off. "I know it's rude to interrupt someone, but I feel I have no choice, because I discard my Desrook Archfiend to revive my Terrorking!" Zeke slid one of the cards in his hand into the Graveyard and Terrorking jumped out of the magma.

"Fine, I'll end my turn by setting a card face down," Alexandria said.

"I release Terrorking to call out one of my most powerful Archfiends!" Zeke declared as lightning flashed in the sky. "Arise Skull Archfiend of Lightning!" a bolt of lightning struck Terrorking causing a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, the monster that had taken Terrorking's place looked like a more demonic version of Yugi Muto's Summoned Skull. (ATK 2500/DEF 1200)

"He comes up a little short of my Dark's power," Alexandria smirked.

"I kind of know that, but I have a Spell card to remedy that situation nicely," Zeke grinned. "The dreaded Riryoku and now half of Dark's attack points go to my Skull Archfiend," energy began to seep off of Dark and into Skull Archfiend. (ATK 3300-1750/DEF 2400) (ATK 2500-4250/DEF 1200)

"Skull Archfiend show her Dark how you treat invaders with your Dark Lightning!" Skull Archfiend roared and fired a blast of black lightning. Dark didn't have time to scream before she was struck.

**(Zeke: 4600) ---- (Alexandria: 3500)**

"I'll end my turn," Zeke smirked. (ATK 4250-2500/DEF 1200)

"Ok my girls both get stronger!" the two remaining Fortune Ladies who looked very nervous began to glow. (ATK 1200-1500/DEF 1200-1500) (ATK 1500-1800/DEF 1500-1800)

"Now I'll end my turn by moving both my monsters to defense mode," Alexandria said turning both her cards sideways.

"I activate Double Attack, which by discarding a monster of a higher level than my Skull Archfiend allow me to well attack twice with him," Zeke explained.

"Wait there's an Archfiend that's a higher level than six?" Alexandria asked.

"Yes, her name is Imprisoned Queen Archfiend, and she's level eight," Zeke turned the card around then dropped it into his Graveyard.

"Now I'll call out Archfiend Soldier," the infernal shock trooper jumped out of the magma pool. (ATK 1900/DEF 1500)

"Archfiend Soldier you're up first, attack Water," the caped Fiend laughed and drove its sword between Water's ribs causing her to shriek and shatter.

"Now Skull Archfiend attack Wind then her directly!" the Archfiend roared and fired two bolts of lightning. The first struck Wind vaporizing her and the second struck Alexandria causing her to cry out.

**(Zeke: 4600) ---- (Alexandria: 1000)**

"And that'll end my turn with a face down card," he grinned.

Alexandria drew and her eyes widened. "I play Monster Reborn and revive the other monster I discarded with Graceful Charity, the Dark Magician of Chaos!" the ankh appeared and a new Spellcaster appeared from it.

He appeared to be dress in black leather with belts around his arms and legs, on his head was an ornate head dress and he held a black staff with a greenish blue gem on the end. (ATK 2800/DEF 2600)

The others looked shocked. "That is one of the rarest Spellcasters in the world, the only other person rumoured to have one was the King of Games himself," Reina gasped.

"Thanks to his effect I can take a Spell card from my Graveyard and add it to my hand, and I think I'll pick my Magical Dimension!" a card fell out of Alexandria's Graveyard.

"Dark Magician of Chaos attack his Archfiend Soldier with Chaos Scepter Blast!" the mage spun his staff around before launching a blast of energy that blew the weaker Archfiend to nothing.

**(Zeke: 3700) ---- (Alexandria: 1000)**

"Now I activate the Magical Dimension I got back from my mage's effect and call out the last Fortune Lady!" the coffin appeared and the mage jumped inside.

From within emerged a woman in a light brown dress with brown hair and she held a staff like her sisters only with an orange gem, on her face was a pair of glasses. (ATK ?/DEF ?)

"Ok first things first, my Magical Dimension's second effect activate and your Archfiend is destroyed, and for the record this doesn't target," the coffin appeared behind Skull Archfiend and pulled him inside.

"I choose to forgo my Pandemonium's effect," Zeke muttered.

"Now my Fortune Lady Earth gains the same amount of attack points as Dark but she's a level six to start," (ATK 0-2400/DEF 0-2400)

"Earth attack him directly with Cursed Skewer!" Earth spun her staff around and then blasted the ground causing several large spikes to strike Zeke.

**(Zeke: 1300) ---- (Alexandria: 1000)**

"That's all I'll do so, turn end," Alexandria grinned.

Zeke drew and smirked. "I activate my second Archfiend's Roar, so be reborn Terrorking!" the wicked monarch jumped out of the magma pool.

**(Zeke: 800) ---- (Alexandria: 1000)**

"Now I call out the Tuner monster Dark Resonator," beside Terrorking appeared a small Fiend, it was dressed in tattered blue robes and wore a foolscap, in its hands it held a drumstick and a tuning fork. (ATK 1300/DEF 300)

"Now to summon this Deck's ace in the hole, because I'm tuning my level four, Terrorking, with my level three, Dark Resonator….." Zeke began.

"_The true king of hell charges straight into battle, his very presence makes his enemies quake in terror! Synchro Summon and incinerate Archfiend Chaos King!"_

Dark Resonator banged the tuning fork with the drumstick causing it to become three green rings. They surrounded Terrorking who seemed to be smirking.

Instead of light a burst of flames occurred. From those flames stepped a very unusual looking Fiend. It had thin body that was covered by a blue and red body suit with black gloves. From its wrist large blades with fire spewing out extended, and from its back similar blades grew, on its face was a bronze mask with smoke billowing out the back. (ATK 2600/DEF 2600)

"And before I attack I'll activate Micro Ray, which reduces your Earth's defense points down to zero until the end of this turn, but this will be the last turn" a large machine appeared behind Zeke and blasted Earth. (ATK 2400/DEF 2400-0)

"Last turn, I'll only lose a measly two-hundred Life Points," Alexandria scoffed.

"Alexandria don't you only two Synchro monsters don't have effect and Ami uses both of them, my Chaos King has an effect that would allow him to slay almost all of the Five Dragons, except for Ancient Fairy Dragon," Zeke said. "When he attacks the attack and defense points of all monsters you control switch until the end of this turn."

"But that means!" Alexandria gasped.

"You lose, granted this was one of my toughest duels, I commend you, Chaos King attack Chaotic Slash!" Archfiend Chaos King ran forward and Earth clutched her chest. (ATK 2400 = 0/DEF 0 = 2400)

The Synchro Fiend slashed the Spellcaster in half and then loomed over Alexandria who closed her eyes and held up her hands to defend herself. The Fiend laughed and then simply flicked her forehead.

**(Zeke: 800) ---- (Alexandria: 0)**

"Oh ya he won as always!" Rob shouted.

"That was close," Melissa said.

"_Zeke may act tough but deep down he's really a big softy,"_ Reina thought.

The five suddenly heard someone clapping and saw Josh standing by his Duel Runner. "That was a great duel, it really helped get my blood flowing."

"I'm sorry Josh sir….." Alexandria began.

"Don't worry Alexandria," he said cutting her off. "Zeke is the best besides Reina herself, but you did very well."

"Thank you," she said her face turning reds.

Josh turned to Reina and smirked. "Heh, I was half expected you to run with your tail between your legs," he laughed. "Are you ready to lose, witch?"

"I don't plan on losing, I plan on crushing you Josh," Reina retorted.

**Reina: Hooray we got to see Zeke's Archfiend Deck and Chaos King.**

**Rob: I hate that thing, it gives me the chills.**

**Josh: It is truly a monster worthy of having king in its name.**

**Melissa: Its effect is dangerous.**

**Zeke: Well enough of the greatness of my Archfiends, Reina and Josh are about to square off for real.**

**Alexandria: Don't miss The King and the Witch, or you'll be sorry.**


	7. Ch7: The King and the Witch

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Seven: The King and the Witch

Ren sat on her Duel Runner at an entry way to Daedalus Bridge. She'd swapped her Ground Deck for her Turbo Deck and Josh had gone into the building his group occupied to change into his riding suit.

He rode out on his Runner, in a riding suit similar to his father's only on his chest was the Wings Mark of the Dragon.

His bike was silver and its body looked similar to Reina's

"I hope you're ready to duel Reina," he smirked.

"More ready than ever before," Reina replied.

The others stood by their Runners their screens set so they could watch the duel. "So guys can Reina beat him?" Melissa asked.

"She's beat him twenty-five times already," Rob answered.

Melissa gasped. "Wait they've dueled twenty-five times?"

"No more than that, but out of this bet, they've dueled forty-nine out of fifty-one duels and if Reina can win this one, she'll be declared the better of the two of them," Zeke said.

"They have a bet going?" Melissa asked. "What does the winner get?"

"Nothing really, just bragging rights, you see Mel, those two actually used to be the best of friends, and a deadly tag team," Rob said.

"But when they were eleven they entered the Tag Duel Championship, ten to twelve division and they destroyed anyone who go in their way, but in the finals they both made a stupid mistake, they underestimated their opponents," Zeke said.

"They two they'd were set to duel, had barely made it to the finals, but when those two faced them, something quickly became clear, the other two, had been faking being poor duelists," Alexandria said.

"Josh and Reina were soundly defeated and they blamed each other for their loss, and well that kind of totalled their friendship, and it became a very heated rivalry, so about two years ago they set up a bet, which ever one of them could win the best of fifty-one duels would be declared the better of the two, so far Reina is in the lead, and if she wins this one then she'll be allowed to brag that she's the better of the two," Zeke explained.

Reina and Josh started their Runners' engines and then pressed a button on their consoles. "As always we won't use auto-pilot," Josh said.

"That's fine by me," Reina smirked.

"_Speed World, set on," _the computerized voices said. _"Duel mode engaged."_

"Let's duel!" the pair shouted.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 0) ---- (Josh: 8000 – SPC: 0)**

"I'll make the first move if you don't mind," Reina said pulling her sixth card free of her Deck.

"I summon Junk Blader!" a Warrior in grey armor with blue highlights wearing a tattered black cape, and holding a red sword jumped out of the portal. (ATK 1800/DEF 1000)

"Now I'll set one card face down and turn it over to you," she said.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 1) ---- (Josh: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

"About time," Josh smirked. "I summon Spear Dragon," a Dragon with blue and light brown scales and an elongated nose flew next to Josh's Runner.

"Attack her Junk Blader with Cyclone Blast!" the odd looking Dragon opened its maw and fired a swirling blast of wind destroying Reina's monster.

**(Reina: 7900 – SPC: 1) ---- (Josh: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

"Now Spear Dragon goes on the defensive but that doesn't matter, because I set a card face down and end my turn," Spear Dragon covered itself with its wings and a card appeared below it before vanishing.

**(Reina: 7900 – SPC: 2) ---- (Josh: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton and since I have two Speed Counters I can draw twice so long as I discard one card from my hand afterwards," Reina said plucking two cards off the top of her Deck before sliding one into her Graveyard.

"Now it's time to meet a Fudo classic, say hello to Junk Synchron!" the monster that jumped out of the portal looked like little robot with orange boots, gauntlets and a hat, it also had an engine on its back and a scarf over where its mouth would be. (ATK 1300/DEF 500)

"Now thanks to his effect I can revive a level two or lower monster from the Graveyard in defense mode, with its effects negated, and I'll choose the one I sent there with my Angel Baton," Junk Synchron gestured and a small rodent with bolts on its back jumped out of a portal, and curled up in ball. (ATK 800/DEF 800)

"Junk Synchron attack his Spear Dragon with…..you know I've never attacked with him before, oh forget it just attack!" Junk Synchron shot forward and was about to slug Spear Dragon, when Josh's face down card flipped open.

Spear Dragon vanished and Josh smirked. "Reveal face down card!" he shouted. "Relieve Monster, it activates when you declare an attack, so now I can swap my Spear Dragon for another level four monster in my hand, so meet Golem Dragon," a large Dragon that appeared to be made out of stone jumped out of the portal and raised its arms to defend itself. (ATK 200/DEF 2000)

"He's kind of like Marauding Captain but only for Dragons," Josh explained with a grin.

"Fine I activate my own face down card, Urgent Tuning, so now I can Synchro Summon during the Battle Phase, so I tune my level three, Junk Synchron, and my level two, Quilbolt Hedgehog……"

"_Cluster stars will awaken the dark fighter born to serve justice! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon let's go, Junk Warrior!"_

Junk Synchro pulled the rip cord on its engine and then shot forward and became the Synchro rings. Quilbolt Hedgehog squeaked and jumped through them becoming orange framework. The stars aligned and produced and explosion of light.

A mechanical looking figure in blue armor with a huge engine on his back, a white scarf covered where his mouth would be. He spun around before throwing a powerful punch. (ATK 2300/DEF 1300)

"Go, Junk Warrior! Attack his monster with Scrap Fist!" Junk Warrior's right arm started to glow then he flew forward and slugged Golem Dragon causing it to cry out before it crumbled to powder.

"Now I'll set a card face down and turn end," Reina said.

**(Reina: 7900 – SPC: 3) ---- (Josh: 8000 – SPC: 3)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Count Up and since Speed Counters are two or higher I can send any number of cards from my hand to the Graveyard to boost my Speed Counters by two for each card sent to the Graveyard," Josh explained sliding one of his cards into the Graveyard.

**(Reina: 7900 – SPC: 3) ---- (Josh: 8000 – SPC: 5)**

"Now I activate Speed Spell – Speed Fusion and send my Dragonic Fusion Supporter and my Divine Dragon Ragnarok to unleash one of my Deck's deadliest monsters King Dragun!" a serpentine Dragon that seemed to be made of pinkish energy and another Dragon or at least a Dragon shaped statue that appeared to be clutching a Polymerization card appeared next to Josh's Runner and were pulled into a swirling vortex.

What emerged looked like Lord of Dragons from the waist up, only with a pair of wings on its back and large shoulder pads, it his hand was The Flute of Summon Dragon, from the waist down the monster had a serpentine trunk. (ATK 2400/DEF 1100)

"Reveal face down card!" Reina shouted. "Threatening Roar so now your monster can't declare an attack this turn and since you have no cards left in your hand, I believe it's my turn!"

**(Reina: 7900 – SPC: 4) ---- (Josh: 8000 – SPC: 6)**

"I summon Gauntlet Warrior!" next to Junk Warrior appeared a small man in blue armor with not surprisingly a huge gauntlet with a huge red shield on his right hand. (ATK 400/DEF 1600)

"But he won't be sticking around because I release him to have all Warrior type monsters I control gain 500 attack and defense points until the end of the next damage step they battle!" Gauntlet Warrior dissolved into motes of light that surrounded Junk Warrior causing the mechanical Warrior to let out a powerful battle cry. (ATK 2300-2800/DEF 1300-1800)

"Go, Junk Warrior take out his King with Scrap Fist!" Junk Warrior roared and flew forward punching the regal Dragon square in the face, causing him to shatter like glass.

**(Reina: 7900 – SPC: 4) ---- (Josh: 7600 – SPC: 6)**

"Now I set two cards face down and end my turn," Reina smirked. (ATK 2800-2300/DEF 1800-1300)

**(Reina: 7900 – SPC: 5) ---- (Josh: 7600 – SPC: 7)**

Josh drew and laughed. "I activate Speed Spell – Angelic Assistance! Now since my Speed Counters are four or higher I get to draw twice, but since I'm holding no cards I get one extra draw!" he shouted snapping three cards off the top of his Deck.

"Now I Special Summon Vice Dragon, since I have no monsters and you have at least one, but his stats are halved!" the purpled scaled Dragon flew out of the portal and snarled at Junk Warrior. (ATK 2000-1000/DEF 2400-1200)

"Now I summon Dread Dragon!" another Dragon flew onto the field, this one had dark brown scales and dark hair fashioned into dreadlocks. (ATK 1100/DEF 400)

"Now I tune my level five, Vice Dragon and my level two, Dread Dragon together….." Josh began.

"_Behold the earth shaking power of the king's mightiest servant! His roar causes enemies to flee in terror! Synchro Summon and decimate Exploder Dragonwing!"_

Dread Dragon flew and became the Synchro gates, Vice Dragon flew through them and became see through. A huge burst of light was produced.

A large Dragon roared and spread its wings. It had dark purple scales and pink wing membranes. It had a long neck and skinny arms. It let loose a furious roar. (ATK 2400/DEF 1600)

"Oh crud," Reina muttered.

"Dragonwing attack her Junk Warrior with King Storm!" Exploder Dragonwing threw back its head and unleashed a torrent of flames that flew at Junk Warrior.

"I activate my monster's effect!" Josh shouted. "Now I can skip damage calculation and toast Junk Warrior, then his attack points come out of your Life Points. Go King's Fury!" the flames swallowed the mechanical Warrior and struck Reina's Runner causing it to slow down severely.

**(Reina: 5600 – SPC: 3) ---- (Josh: 7600 – SPC: 7)**

"I'll end my turn by setting my last card face down!" Josh laughed. "Looks like you're not doing so well Reina!"

"Reveal face down card!" Reina shouted. "Descending Lost Star, now I select one Synchro monster in my Graveyard and revive it in defense mode with one less level and zero defense points." Junk Warrior appeared in a burst of light his arms over his chest. (ATK 2300/DEF 1300 = 0) (LVL: 5-4)

**(Reina: 5600 – SPC: 8) ---- (Josh: 7600 – SPC: 8)**

"Wait but how are your Speed Counters as high as mine?" Josh asked.

"I activated Slip Stream when you activated your Speed Spell," Reina grinned.

"I summon Turbo Synchron!" a small creature that looked like a race car with a head, arms and legs appeared from the portal. (ATK 100/DEF 500)

"Too bad Reina, if your Junk Warrior was one level higher I might be worried, but you don't have the proper levels for a Synchro Summon!" Josh sneered.

"Don't forget what a great duelist once said, 'one card can turn it all around'!" Reina shouted throwing her last card into her Duel Disk.

"I activate Speed Spell – Warrior's Soul! Now since I have three or more Speed Counters I can remove every Warrior type monster from my Graveyard and draw one card for every removed Warrior, so I remove Junk Blader, Junk Synchron and Gauntlet Warrior, and then I get to draw three cards." Reina quickly slid the cards into a special slot on her Runner and then drew three new cards.

"I just drew my Noisy Gnat, but this isn't a monster you play, no I can discard him to increase the level of one monster on the field by one until the End Phase, so Junk Warrior is back to his original level," Reina dropped the card into her discard slot and a spectral Insect with pink hair phased into Junk Warrior. (LVL: 4-5)

"Now I tune my level one, Turbo Synchron with my level five, Junk Warrior!" Reina began.

"_Clustering bonds will weave a path for this Warrior of justice to fly along! Became the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon, and charge forward, Turbo Warrior!"_

Turbo Synchron pulled the visor of its helmet over its eyes and then it flew forward and became a single green ring. Junk Warrior followed behind and flew through the ring.

Appearing in a burst of light was another mechanical looking Warrior. This one bore a slight resemblance to the famous Transformers character Optimus Prime. He had razor sharp claws and two huge exhaust pipes extending from his back and rocket engines in place of feet. (ATK 2500/DEF 1500)

"Oh, that's not good," Josh muttered.

"When Turbo Warrior attacks a level six or higher Synchro monster that monster's attack points are halved until the end of the damage step, and he can't be targeted by the effects of level six or lower monsters," Reina explained.

"Turbo Warrior attack his Dragonwing with Accel Slash!" Turbo Warrior flew forward with blinding speed towards Exploder Dragonwing.

"Now activate High-Rate Power!" Turbo Warrior's claw began to glow and Exploder Dragonwing began to shrink until it was half its original size. (ATK 2400-1200/DEF 1600)

Turbo Warrior continued forward and cleaved the Dragon in two before slashing Josh's bike.

**(Reina: 5600 – SPC: 8) ---- (Josh: 6300 – SPC: 7)**

"I'll set a card face down, and end my turn," Reina smirked.

**(Reina: 5600 – SPC: 9) ---- (Josh: 6300 – SPC: 8)**

"I set a monster face down and end my turn," Josh growled.

**(Reina: 5600 – SPC: 10) ---- (Josh: 6300 – SPC: 9)**

"Turbo Warrior go, attack his face down monster," Turbo Warrior flew forward and sliced another monster I two, this one was a small Dragon with red scales, and it appeared to be wearing a white mask.

"That was my Masked Dragon and since it was destroyed and sent to my Graveyard, I can call out this little guy," in a burst of flames a small Dragon with a disk shaped body, and an extremely long neck appeared, it was painted with various colourful patterns. (ATK 400/DEF 200)

"This is my Totem Dragon and when I use him to Advance Summon a Dragon he can count as two releases," Josh smirked.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Reina said.

**(Reina: 5600 – SPC: 11) ---- (Josh: 6300 – SPC: 10)**

Josh drew and laughed. "Perfect, now I will call forth a one of my most deadly monsters that isn't in my extra Deck. Behold the legendary Tyrant Dragon!" Totem was consumed by a roaring bonfire. From the bonfire flew a massive Dragon with rust coloured scales and a glimmering green gem embedded in its forehead. (ATK 2900/DEF 2500)

"Tyrant Dragon destroy her Turbo Warrior with Tyrant's Blaze!" the massive Dragon opened its maw and fired a blast of white hot flames that engulfed Turbo Warrior.

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 11) ---- (Josh: 6300 – SPC: 10)**

"Now I'll end my turn," Josh smirked.

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 12) ---- (Josh: 6300 – SPC: 11)**

"Don't think I'm out yet Josh! Reveal face down card Call of the Haunted so come back Turbo Warrior!" Turbo Warrior burst of the ground and flew next to Reina's Runner.

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," she said.

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 12) ---- (Josh: 6300 – SPC: 12)**

"Heh, we're both at max speed now and you just summoned a monster weaker than mine and then played a face down card, do you think I'm stupid?" Josh asked with a smirk.

"Maybe it's just a bluff," Reina replied.

"I'm doubtful, so I'll just end my turn with a face down card," Josh muttered.

"Wrong move Josh!" Reina shouted after drawing her next card,

"Reveal face down card!" she shouted. "Rising Energy, so now by discarding one card from my hand and Turbo Warrior will gains 1500 attack points!" Turbo Warrior began to burn with a fiery red aura. (ATK 2500-4000/DEF 1500)

"Now I summon Rapid Warrior!" another mechanical looking Warrior, appeared on the field, this one had a streamlined green and white armored body, with a thin segmented tail. (ATK 1200/DEF 200)

"Turbo Warrior attack Tyrant Dragon with Accel Slash!" Turbo Warrior flew at the Dragon and sliced it in two.

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 12) ---- (Josh: 5200 – SPC: 11)**

"Rapid Warrior attack him directly with Rapid Strike!" Rapid Warrior charged forward and punched the front of Josh's bike.

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 12) ---- (Josh: 4000 – SPC: 10)**

"Turn end," Reina said. (ATK 4000-2500/DEF 1500)

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 12) ---- (Josh: 4000 – SPC: 11)**

"Reverse card open!" Josh shouted as the most recently set card lifted up. "I'll activate my Call of the Haunted and revive King Dragun!" the fused Dragon tore itself free of the ground and snarled at Reina.

"Now I activate Speed Spell – Synchro Greed, since I have six or more Speed Counters I remove one Synchro monster from my Graveyard and draw one card for every two levels it had, so goodbye Exploder Dragonwing and hello three cards," the card fell out of Josh's discard slot and he slid it into the removed from play slot and then drew three cards.

"Now I summon Magna Drago," a small red Dragon with a triangular head flew out of the portal. (ATK 1400/DEF 600)

"Now I use King Dragun's effect to Special Summon Kaiser Glider!" King Dragun gestured and a portal opened beside him. From it emerged a Dragon that seemed to be made out of bronze, with wings that looked more bird-like than dragon-like. (ATK 2400/DEF 2200)

"Now I tune my level two, Magna Drago, and my level six, Kaiser Glider together…." He began.

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" _

Magna Drago flew forward and became two green rings. Kaiser Glider flew through them and was reduced to framework.

From the burst of light appeared the wicked looking Dragon. He threw back his head and let out a bloodthirsty roar. (ATK 3000/DEF 2000)

"King Dragun attack her Rapid Warrior with Fire Scourge!" King Dragun fired a blast of flames from the Flute of Summoning Dragons he was holding, burning the Warrior to ashes.

**(Reina: 4000 – SPC: 11) ---- (Josh: 4000 – SPC: 11)**

"Red Dragon Archfiend attack her Turbo Warrior with Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon Archfiend roared and slashed Turbo Warrior obliterating it.

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 11) ---- (Josh: 4000 – SPC: 11)**

"I end my turn," Josh said.

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 12) ---- (Josh: 4000 – SPC: 12)**

"I activate Graceful Revival and use it to revive the Tuningware I used to activate Rising Energy!" from the Trap card appeared a small robot with a wok on its head and a yellow scarf around its face. (ATK 100/DEF 300)

"Now I activate Speed Spell – Miniature Duplication, since I have three or more Speed Counters I can select one level two or lower monster on my side of the Field with 1000 or less attack points and Special Summon all copies of that monster from my Deck," in bursts of light two more Tuningwares appeared.

"Now I'll summon Debris Dragon!" a monster that looked like a younger version of Stardust Dragon flew onto the field. (ATK 1000/DEF 2000)

"I choose not to activate his effect, but I will use one of my Tuningwares' effects and that is if I use the little guy for a Synchro Summon I can treat it as a level two."

"So I tune my level four, Debris Dragon, with my two level one, Tuningwares and my level two, Tuningware…."

"_Clustering souls will create a glorious new light! Become the path of light itself! Synchro Summon, illuminate Light End Dragon!"_

Debris Dragon became four green rings that surrounded the three other monsters. The Tuningware's became see through.

From the burst of light appeared a Dragon with pure white scales, with golden armor on its chest and a golden helmet with a ring like shape attached to it, it had four feathered wings extending from its back. (ATK 2600/DEF 2100)

"He may not be Stardust Dragon, but he's pretty cool anyway, and since I used my Tuningwares for a Synchro Summon I can now draw one card per Tuningware," Reina said.

"Light End Dragon attack King Dragun with Shining Sublimation!" Light End Dragon roared and fired a beam of pure light from its maw. King Dragun didn't even have time to scream as he was atomized.

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 12) ---- (Josh: 3800 – SPC: 12)**

"Amazing these two are neck and neck and have been the whole duel," Melissa grinned.

"It's always like this, but I had no clue Reina had Light End or Debris Dragon," Zeke murmured.

"Well I know she got Light End when I got Dark End," Rob said.

"Now I'll set two cards face down and then turn end," Reina said.

Josh drew and smirked. "Red Dragon wipe out her Light End Dragon, Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon Archfiend roared as its fist burst into flames.

It flew forward but just as it was about to destroy Light End Dragon when an invisible shield appeared to block the attack.

"Well looks like your Dragon wasn't strong enough to get past my Waboku, which prevents damage to me and my monsters for this turn," Reina smirked.

Josh growled. "You're really starting to get on my last nerve witch, I'll just end my turn."

"I activate Synchro Strike and target my Light End Dragon, obviously," Reina said as a wavy red aura surrounded Light End Dragon. "Now for each Synchro material monster I used to call out Light End, he gains 500 attack points until the End Phase, so he gains 2000!" (ATK 2600-4600/DEF 2100) Light End Dragon roared as if to emphasize its mistress' points.

"Light End Dragon attack and since it's attacking I can activate its effect, Light Expansion!" a sphere of light surrounding the white Dragon. It began to expand until it covered Red Dragon Archfiend, causing the wicked looking Dragon to cry out it pain. (ATK 3000-1500/DEF 2000-500)

"What just happened?" Josh demanded.

"That would be Light End's effect, when it attacks by permanently giving up 500 attack and defense points, your monster loses 1500 attack and defense points until the End Phase," Reina explained. (ATK 4600-4100/DEF 2100-1600)

"Light End Dragon destroy Red Dragon Archfiend with Shining Sublimation!" the white Dragon fired another beam of light from its jaws vaporizing Josh's Dragon.

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 12) ---- (Josh: 1200 – SPC: 10)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina grinned. (ATK 4100-2100/DEF 1600)

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 12) ---- (Josh: 1200 – SPC: 11)**

Josh drew and smirked. "This duel ends now!" he declared.

"First I summon Cave Dragon!" a large Dragon with dark green scales and yellow spiky protrusions on its back jumped out of the portal. (ATK 2000/DEF 100)

"Now I activate Speed Spell – Sinister Revival, and since my Speed Counters are eight or higher I can revive a Dark monster in my Graveyard, so welcome back Red Dragon Archfiend!" Red Dragon Archfiend flew out of a dark void that had opened above the two duelists.

"Wait, I'll still have Life Points left," Reina said.

"Heh, well first I activate my face down card Ultimate Offering!" the Trap card flipped open and a red aura surrounded Josh. "I play 500 Life Points and release Cave Dragon to call out Strong Wind Dragon!" Cave Dragon vanished and a large hunched over Dragon with blue-green scales flew next to Josh. (ATK 2400/DEF 1000)

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 12) ---- (Josh: 700 – SPC: 11)**

"He has an interesting effect, since I used a Dragon as the release to Advance Summon him, he gains half that Dragon's attack points," Josh left as a spectral version of Cave Dragon appeared and phased into Strong Wind Dragon. (ATK 2400-3400/DEF 1000)

"Attack her Light End Dragon with Strong Hurricane!" Strong Wind Dragon threw back its head and then threw it forward and released a blast of wind from its maw. Light End Dragon tried to resist but it was blown away.

**(Reina: 2200 – SPC: 11) ---- (Josh: 700 – SPC: 11)**

"Red Dragon end this with Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon Archfiend's hand ignited and it struck Reina's bike causing her to cry out and skid to a halt as steam erupted from the vents.

**(Reina: 0 – SPC: 11) ---- (Josh: 700 – SPC: 11)**

Josh pulled alongside her and smirked. "Well round fifty to me, and when next we meet it will be the duel that will allow me to be crowned King of New Domino City," he laughed.

"In your dreams Josh, when we meet in the finals I'll be beating you and I'll be crowned the Queen!" Reina declared as Zeke, Rob, and Melissa with Alexandria on the back of her Runner pulled up next to the pair.

Alexandria jumped off and handed her helmet to Rob, who stored it in a back compartment on his bike.

She got on Josh's bike and he produced a spare helmet and the two drove off. Reina grinned. "Now that got the blood flowing!" she shouted.

What the group didn't know was that they were being watched. By the person in the black suit and to hat, he grinned ominously. "Yes children eat, drink and be merry for sometime this week, you and your cards part ways," he chuckled.

**Melissa: Well that sucks Reina lost!**

**Zeke: Mel she's lost twenty-four other times, it doesn't really bother her.**

**Reina: Nope, Josh is a tough opponent and dueling him is always one of my greatest challenges.**

**Rob: Well next time Mel is in trouble because, to lure Reina into dueling him, the mysterious man is targeting her.**

**Reina: Don't miss The Phantom Cometh, or you'll be sorry.**

**Zeke: Also the boss would like us to remind you he doesn't own Yu-gi-oh! Kazuki Takahashi does.**

**Original Cards**

Speed Spell – Angel Baton

Image: An angel in a blue dress with a crystal floating between her hands.

| Spell | Activate while you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Draw 2 cards. Send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard.

(This card was first used by Yusei in the Yu-gi-oh! 5D's OVA Evolving Duel! Stardust vs. Red Demons, it was first seen in Crow's hand in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 31, creative credit goes to the writers of those episodes.)

Speed Spell – Count Up

Image: It appears to be the screen of a Duel Runner.

| Spell | Activate when your Speed Counters are 2 or higher. Send any number of cards from your hand to the Graveyard. Gain 2 Speed Counters for each card sent to the Graveyard by this effect.

(This card was first used by Trudge in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 65 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Speed Spell – Speed Fusion

Image: The Dark Magician and Flame Swordsman in the foreground surrounded by energy with Dark Flare Knight in the background.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 4 or more Speed Counters. Send Fusion Material Monsters that are listed on a Fusion Monster Card from your hand or your side of the field to the Graveyard, and Special Summon that Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck.

(This card was first used by Jack in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 4 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Dragonic Fusion Supporter

Earth | Level 3 | Dragon/Effect | 1200/700 | You can substitute this for any 1 Fusion Material Monster. When you do this the other Fusion Material Monster(s) must be the correct one(s). Discard this card from your hand to the Graveyard to add a card with 'Polymerization' or 'Fusion' from your Deck to your hand.

Slip Stream

Image: Two cars, one with a stream of wind around it.

| Trap | Activate only when your opponent activates a "Speed Spell" Spell Card and you have less Speed Counters on a "Speed World" you control than a "Speed World" your opponent controls. During your next Standby Phase place Speed Counters on your "Speed World" equal to the difference in Speed Counters on "Speed World" between you and your opponent.

(This card was first used by Yusei in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 3 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Speed Spell – Warrior's Soul

Image: Junk Synchron holding a glowing sphere with a card inside.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 3 or more Speed Counters. Remove every Warrior type monster in your Graveyard and draw one card for every removed monster.

Speed Spell – Synchro Greed

Image: Colossal Fighter punching the Pot of Greed, causing four cards to spill from the top.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 6 or more Speed Counters. Remove a Synchro monster from your Graveyard and draw one card for every two levels it had.

Speed Spell – Miniature Duplication

Image: Nitro Synchro standing on a copy machine, with another one jumping out of the tray.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 3 or more Speed Counters. Select one level two or lower monster on your side of the field with 1000 or less attack points, and summon all other copies of the select monster from your Deck.

Speed Spell – Sinister Revival

Image: Invader of Darkness jumping out of a dark void above to Turbo Duelists.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 9 or more Speed Counters. Select one Dark attribute monster in your Graveyard and Special Summon it to your side of the field.


	8. Ch8: The Phantom Cometh

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Eight: The Phantom Cometh

Melissa, Reina and Zeke sat in the cafeteria at Duel Academy. Rob plopped down next to Melissa. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late, I had to help Professor Shafer clean up the science lab," he said.

"What'd you do this time?" Zeke asked in between bites.

"Nothing, he just asked me to help clean up, so any of you hear about the Phantom Thief?" Rob grinned.

"The Phantom Thief, no never heard of him. Who's that?" Rein asked.

"Well right now I think it's just a rumour but, well some people are saying, that he challenges people to duels and if they lose he steals all of their rare cards," Rob answered.

"Bah, just some stupid rumour," Zeke scoffed.

"And if he is real, he sounds like some glorified Rare Hunter," Melissa said.

"Ya, you guys are probably right," Rob murmured.

"Ahem," coughed a voice behind Reina and Zeke

They turned around and saw Josh standing there with a Duel Disk in his hand. "What do you want Josh?" Reina growled.

Josh raised his hand. "I'm not here to start trouble, I'm here to ask a favour," he said.

"Ok and what would that be?" Reina asked.

Josh set the Duel Disk down on the table and the group gasped. It was scorched in a few places and the Life Points counter looked like it had exploded. "What the hell happened to it, a bomb?" Rob quipped.

"Shut it featherbrain," Josh snapped. "No this was the work of the Phantom Thief. He challenged Alexandria and then when he won he took her whole Fortune Lady set, as well as her Dark Magician Girl and Dark Paladin."

"Ok not that this has any relevance with what happened, but Alexandria has a Dark Paladin, so does that mean she has a Dark Magician?" Melissa inquired.

"No she doesn't," Josh answered. "She has a Buster Blader, but if she has uses them, mainly to take on a Dragon duelist, she uses King of the Swamp, so Reina can your dad fix her Duel Disk?"

"Is Stardust Dragon rare?" Reina asked sarcastically. "Josh you seem to forget my dad disabled a shock collar with a rusty nail, of course he can fix it, but is Alexandria ok?" she asked noticing that Josh's hands were shaking and he looked incredibly angry.

"She'll be alright, but she was bawling her eyes out and I had trouble getting her to calm down enough to come to school," Josh replied. "If I find the Phantom Thief I'll make him sorry he was born."

Reina nodded. "I'll get this back to you when my dad's done fixing it."

Josh nodded and stomped off. "Man he's pissed, I'd hate to be on his bad side right now," Rob muttered.

"He really does care about her," Reina said with a faint smile.

-****-

Later that day after school

Melissa was sliding things into her locker when Reina walked up to her. "Hey, Mel want to hang out tonight?" she asked.

"Sorry I can't Reina I have to work tonight," Melissa replied.

"Oh well, see you later then, remember be careful and watch out for the Phantom Thief," Reina said before walking off.

Melissa walked outside to the school parking lot and got on her Duel Runner and drove towards her house.

Watching from the shadows was the Phantom Thief, the man in the top hat and suit. He held what looked like a PDA and smirked. "Yes, that would be Melissa Yoshiro, Reina's friend and a Psychic type user, a moderately skilled duelist, and possessor of some very rare cards indeed," he chuckled.

"And if I wish to draw out Ms. Fudo then I should target her for best results, Zeke Kessler is more powerful and closer to Reina, but defeating him would be harder, the same thing with Robert Hogan."

-****-

Later that night the Daily Duel

Melissa walked out of the building and towards the parking lot.

When she got to the parking lot she gasped. Sitting on her Duel Runner was a man in a black suit with a top hat and a black and red cape, a white mask covering the top part of his face, on his right arm was a Duel Disk, with a square tray, the whole thing was gunmetal grey, with a stylized eye making up the Life Points counter. Except for the mask and Duel Disk Melissa had to admit he looked like the man on the Misfortune Spell card.

"Good evening Ms. Yoshiro, just getting off work I presume?" he asked.

Melissa started to back away but he jumped up and twirled what appeared to be a cord over his head. He threw it forward and it attached to her Duel Disk. She gasped. "Hey! What is this?" she demanded.

"Heh, heh," he laughed. "It's a tool used by many Duel Gangs, a long time ago in the Satellite, when a duel ends the loser's Duel Disk is destroyed."

Melissa gasped. _"That's how he forced Alexandria to duel him!"_

"What's to stop me from just running away, Duel Disks are replaceable after all?" she asked.

The Phantom Thief laughed again. "Very true and I wouldn't chase you, no but try to remove your Deck from its slot," he smirked.

Melissa tried to pull her Deck out if the tray, but her eyes widened it horror. It wouldn't budge. "So I take it you realize, you could run, but it would do you know good, unless you start a duel even your Extra Deck slot and that very rare monster you attained from Ms. Mukuro," he sneered.

Melissa growled and was about to slide the Duel Disk off her arm. "Hmmm, still not willing to co-operate eh?" he chuckled reaching into his back pocket. He produced several cards and turned them around.

Melissa gasped. He was holding the Fortune Ladies and the Dark Magician Girl. "If you can beat me I'll give you these and you can do with them as you please, if not well I'm sure I can find a black market buyer."

"_Damn it!"_ Melissa screamed mentally. _"What would Reina do if she were, here? I know it's stupid and I hardly know Alexandria, but I can't let this guy sell her cards, she loves them, and to a duelist a card given to you by someone special is more precious than anything."_

"Fine I'll accept you challenge!" Melissa shouted activating her Duel Disk.

"_Heh, heh, she took the bait hook line and sinker, so far everything is going according to plan, and I've managed to amass a good collection of rare cards,"_ the Thief laughed mentally.

"Duel!" the two shouted.

**(Melissa: 8000) ---- (Phantom Thief: 8000)**

"Ok slime I'll go first!" Melissa shouted drawing her sixth card.

"Heh, slime, is that the best insult you can come up with?" the Thief laughed. "I've been called much worse by better people."

"Whatever, I'm going to crush you and get back all the cards you've stolen!" Melissa declared angrily.

"Well as you kids say 'bring it on'," the Thief said tauntingly.

"I activate Graceful Charity, I doubt I need to explain this card," the angel appeared and Melissa drew three times and handed her two cards.

"I summon Reinforced Human Psychic Borg!" in a flash of light a humanoid creature appeared. He was covered in black armor and looked like he was a much a machine as he was a human, in his hand was a strange looking sword with a laser blade. (ATK 1500/DEF 800)

"He has a handy effect, as well as good looks," Melissa smirked. "Up to twice per turn I can remove one Psychic type monster from my Graveyard to boost Borg's attack points by 500 permanently, but I'll only remove one monster from my Graveyard this turn," energy began to gather around the cyborg. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 800)

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," she said.

The Thief drew and smirked. "I set a monster face down and then activate the Field Spell, Necrovalley!" the ground began to shake violently and suddenly Melissa and the Thief were standing on large rocky pillars inside a large canyon. In the distance, Melissa swore she could see several pyramids.

"This is a very useful Spell, in the right kind of Deck, a Gravekeeper's Deck, because all of them gain 500 attack and defense and any cards that target the Graveyard are negated, oh and cards cannot be removed from the Graveyard," the Thief explained with a nasty smirk.

"Wait Gravekeeper's I've heard of them, they're supposed to be protectors of the Valley of the Kings, and the tombs that are there," Melissa said.

"Yes and what's your point?" the Thief asked.

"How could a thief like you dare to use cards that are sworn to stop such things!" Melissa snarled.

"Ha, I didn't know that thieves had a specific kind of Deck type assigned to them, if so I must have missed that day in orientation," the Thief laughed.

"Ok so why do you use them?" Melissa demanded.

"Why, you ask," the Thief replied. "I have no reason, although I must admit I enjoy the irony!"

"Fine, is that your turn?" Melissa growled.

"No like you I'll set a card face down and that will end my turn," he sneered.

"Then hold onto your hat, because I summon the might Armored Axon Kicker!" in another burst of light appeared a robotic warrior. It looked like its body was filled with green fluid, and it had numerous tubes sticking out of it. (ATK 2200/DEF 1800)

"Oh and I could summon him without a release because I control a face up Psychic monster," Melissa explained.

"Ok Borg, destroy his face down monster, with Blade of Assimilation!" Borg charged forward and swung his sword at the face down monster.

But to Melissa's surprise it was blocked by a dark skinned man in a black robe, holding a spear. (ATK 1000-1500/DEF 1900-2400) He shoved the cyborg and the monster stumbled back to Melissa's side of the field.

**(Melissa: 7600) ---- (Phantom Thief: 8000)**

"Heh, I take it you don't know the effect of my Gravekeeper's Guard?" the Thief asked.

"Ummm, no can't say I do," Melissa replied.

"Then I think you'll like it, because you see when he's flipped face up one your monsters goes back to your hand, and I bet you can guess which one I'll choose," he explained and Melissa's eyes widened in shock as Armored Axon Kicker vanished.

"Heh, heh, heh, anything else you care to do little girl?" he asked.

Melissa looked over the cards in her hand and scowled. "No I end my turn," she grumbled.

"Then I shall continue!" the Thief laughed. "Hmmm so far you haven't proven to be very good prey, oh well."

"To be far right now that is neither here nor there," he chuckled. "I summon Gravekeeper's Assailant," from behind the Thief jumped a person covered almost completely in a black robe, the only thing visible were, their eyes, feet and hands, one of the latter clutching a large knife. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1500-2000)

"Now I'll shift my Guard into attack mode and have my Assailant attack your cyborg!" the assassin nimbly jumped forward towards the cyborg.

"That's crazy both of our monsters will destroy each other!" Melissa shouted. But to her horror, Gravekeeper's Assailant knife began to glow, and Borg deactivated his sword and crouched down.

The assassin slashed Borg with her weapon causing him to spark before he exploded. "Let me explain my Assailant's effect, since Necrovalley is active when she attacks, I can change the battle mode of one of your face up monsters, and that isn't crazy I have another monster to attack you, but to be fair I don't really care if my monsters die," the Thief smirked.

"Ok, I take back what I said before, calling you slime was an insult to slime everywhere! You're just scum!" Melissa snarled.

"Heh, sticks and stones, young lady," the Thief laughed. "Guard attack her directly!" the guard nodded and rush forward his weapon pointed at Melissa's face.

The spear came at Melissa's face and she moved her head out of the way but the attack grazed her cheek. She hissed in pain and put a hand to the cheek that had been hit. Her eyes widened in horror when she noticed there was blood on her hand.

**(Melissa: 6100) ---- (Phantom Thief: 8000)**

"W….w…what how did that attack actually cut me?" she asked. "These are just holograms."

The Thief chuckled. "Yes young lady these are holograms, but the holograms produced by my specially modified Duel Disk, well they're as solid as you or I."

"That's insane!" Melissa exclaimed.

"To you it may seem that way, but for me in only makes the thrill of the hunt more enjoyable," the Thief said.

"But I'll end my turn," he sneered.

"Hold on to the end of your turn I'll chain my Solemn Wishes Trap card!" Melissa shouted. "Now every time I draw one or more cards I gain 500 Life Points."

She then drew and a small shower of rain fell over her.

**(Melissa: 6600) ---- (Phantom Thief: 8000)**

"Now I activate the Continuous Spell card Teleport, and since I control no monsters while you have at least one, I can now pay 800 Life Points to Special Summon a Psychic monster from my hand!" she explained as a circle of light appeared in front of her.

**(Melissa: 5800) ---- (Phantom Thief: 8000)**

"So I'll use it to Special Summon this guy," from the circle of light appeared a creature in a blue jacket with pale skin and four bolts in its head, in place of hands it had two large tanks filled with red liquid. (ATK 1300/DEF 1400)

"Now I'll summon Armored Axon Kicker again!" the liquid robot jumped onto the field. "Now I'll pay 600 Life points to activate my Power Injector's effect, which gives all Psychic type monsters 500 attack during this turn," both Melissa's monsters began to glow red. (ATK 1300-1800/DEF 1400) (ATK 2200-2700/DEF 1800)

**(Melissa: 5200) ---- (Phantom Thief: 8000)**

"Axon Kicker attack his Assailant with Electro Impulse Punch!" the robot's fist began to crackle with electricity and it ran forward and slugged the assassin.

**(Melissa: 5200) ---- (Phantom Thief: 7300)**

The robot jumped back and sparks flew off it and shocked Melissa.

**(Melissa: 4450) ---- (Phantom Thief: 7300)**

"Damn it, I don't have a monster weak enough to use my monster's effect," Melissa said. "Well for now it doesn't matter, Power Injector attack his Guard with High Pressure Crush!" the creature lifted its arm and fired a blast of the liquid from one of its arm tank, the water slammed into the Guard causing him to shatter.

**(Melissa: 4450) ---- (Phantom Thief: 7000)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Melissa grinned. (ATK 1300-1800/DEF 1400) (ATK 2700-2200/DEF 1800)

"Not a bad move, but not good enough!" the Thief shouted as his face down card flipped open. "Reveal, Rite of Spirit! This will allows Special Summon a Gravekeeper's monster from my Graveyard, oh and this card bypasses Necrovalley, and I shall choose my Assailant," an alter with a statue that looked like a humanoid snake creature burst out of the ground. Lying on the alter was Gravekeeper's Assailant who quickly stood up and glared at Melissa. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1500-2000)

"Hold on I activate Psychic Rejuvenation and now I gain back 1000 Life Points for each Psychic monster I control," a shimmering yellow aura began to surround Melissa.

**(Melissa: 6450) ---- (Phantom Thief: 7000)**

"Now I shall call out Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" a man dressed like Gravekeeper's Guard walked onto the field. He held a more ornate looking spear. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1000-1500)

"Assailant attack her Armored Axon Kicker, with Stealth Slash," the assassin seemed to vanish and the robot knelt down. The robed woman appeared behind the robot and plunged the knife into its back causing it to spark and explode.

"Spear Soldier attack her Power Injector!" the spear wielding man charged forward and drove his spear into the stomach of the creature, it groaned and then shattered.

**(Melissa: 5750) ---- (Phantom Thief: 7000)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," the Thief smirked.

Melissa drew and more rain fell over her.

**(Melissa: 6250) ---- (Phantom Thief: 7000)**

"I activate Emergency Teleport, and now I can call out a level or lower Psychic monster from my Deck or hand, and I pick Krebons from my Deck!" the digital harlequin appeared in a burst of light. (ATK 1200/DEF 400)

"Now I call out my Mind Protector!" the yellow armored robot jumped onto the field and looked at Krebons. (ATK 0/DEF 2200)

"Now I tune my level two, Krebons with my level three, Mind Protector…."

"_With armor of steel and a soul of light, grant the forces of good energy to fight on! Synchro Summon Magical Android!"_

Krebons phased into Mind Protector and the green rings appeared around it. The stars aligned and a burst of light was produced. The female android appeared and glared at the Thief who simply smirked. (ATK 2400/DEF 1700)

"Destroy his Assailant with Psychic Energy Surge!" the Android raised her staff and fired a bolt of energy that struck the assassin causing her to scream and shatter.

**(Melissa: 6250) ---- (Phantom Thief: 6600)**

"Now I'll end my turn with a face down and my Android's effect activates and she heals me for 600 points for every Psychic monster I control," Melissa said as she was surrounded by a yellow aura.

**(Melissa: 6850) ---- (Phantom Thief: 6600)**

"Hmmm, it seems you have gained a temporary lead," the Thief said with an amused smirk. "Yes you are making for much better prey now."

"Stop calling me prey," Melissa snapped.

"Heh, heh, I call all those I hunt prey, and you are prey that will lead me to prey that will lead me to a grand prize," the Thief laughed.

"_I don't like the sound of that,"_ Melissa thought.

The Thief drew and looked at what he'd just draw. "Hmmm it seems your lead was very temporary."

"I shall activate my Graceful Charity," the angel appeared again and the Thief quickly drew three cards and handed the angel two.

"Now I activate a second Rite of Spirit and use to revive a recent addition to the Gravekeeper's, meet Gravekeeper's Descendant!" in a burst of shadow appeared a young looking man, with dark coloured skin, he was dressed in black robes like the other Gravekeeper's, he had blond hair and held a staff with the end shaped like a cobra. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1200-1700)

"Now I shall release my Spear Soldier to call out Gravekeeper's Chief!" the spear wielding man disappeared and where he stood appeared a man in robes similar to the other Gravekeeper's, only his were white and looked fancier, he held a staff similar to Gravekeeper's Descendant. (ATK 1900-2400/DEF 1200-1700)

"He has several effects, most of them are very useful," the Thief said. "Firstly I may only control one Gravekeeper's Chief at a time, second my Graveyard is now unaffected by Necrovalley, and finally since he was Advanced Summoned successfully, I may now revive a Gravekeeper's monster, and I'll choose my Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" the spear wielding man pulled himself out of the ground and stood next to his comrades. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1000-1500)

"But he won't be around long, because I will release him to activate Gravekeeper's Descendant's effect, which lets me destroy your Android!" Gravekeeper's Descendant raised his staff as the spear wielding man disappeared, he fired a blast of energy that vaporized Melissa's monster.

"Both of you attack her directly with Twin Spell of the Afterlife!" both Gravekeeper's raised their staves and fired blast of energy that slammed into Melissa. They struck her in the chest causing her to scream in pain as she was thrown backwards.

**(Melissa: 2450) ---- (Phantom Thief: 6600)**

"Heh, heh, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if you are unable to get up in one minute you automatically forfeit the duel," the Thief chuckled. He pressed a button on his Duel Disk and a projection that showed sixty seconds appeared, it began counting down.

"_Damn it!"_ Melissa screamed mentally. _"I can't lose this duel, if I do I'll lose the card Danny and Chelsea gave me!"_

The counter got down to thirty-seven second and Melissa stood up clutching where she'd been struck. She groaned and glared at the masked man.

"Heh, you managed to stand up, that was unwise, because unless you draw a miracle, then well you lose!" he shouted.

"So you end your turn?" Melissa asked weakly.

"After I set card face down I will," the Thief smirked.

Melissa drew and gasped. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot, so we both draw three cards!" she shouted as the Pot of Greed appeared in the middle of the dueling field. Both duelists snapped three cards off the top of their Decks.

"Well, well looks like miracles really do happen because I activate Brain Research Lab!" the valley dissolved and the duelists found themselves standing in a room filled with computers and behind Melissa was a tank with a brain floating in it. (ATK 2000-1500/DEF 1700-1200) (ATK 2400-1900/DEF 1700-1200)

"Now I activate Miracle Synchro Fusion!" Melissa shouted.

"What!" the Thief gasped. "You can't be summoning that!"

"Oh I can! I remove my Magical Android and my Krebons from the Graveyard to Fusion Summon one of my strongest cards!" a large vortex appeared behind Melissa. Krebons and Magical Android appeared and jumped into it. A thunderous roar echoed from the vortex and something emerged.

In had a body structure similar to an Archfiend monster, with bone like armor covering parts of its body, but unlike the Archfiends this monster had what looked like black energy instead of muscle beneath the armor. The beast threw back its head and roared into the sky. (ATK 2900/DEF 1700)

"Meet my Ultimate Psychicker I got him thanks to Ami, and I'm not done yet I summon Psychic Jumper," a small blue skinned humanoid creature jumped onto the field, it wore a brown coat and black pants both hanging off its thin limbs. (ATK 100/DEF 1500)

"Now I activate Call of the Haunted and use it to revive my Armored Axon Kicker," from a third time the fluid filled robot appeared on the field.

"_Deep within the mind sleeps the Id demon! It burst forth to cause mayhem and destruction! Synchro Summon, awaken Thought Ruler Archfiend!"_

"Now I tune my level two, Psychic Jumper and my level six Armored Axon Kicker….." Psychic jumper hopped onto the robots shoulders and phased into it. The green rings appeared around the robot causing it to become orange line work. From the burst of light appeared a creature that looked similar to Ultimate Psychicker only unlike the other beast it lacked a serpentine trunk in place of legs. (ATK 2700/DEF 2300)

"Now I use the last card in my hand Enemy Controller and I'll use it to switch your Chief into defense mode and why you may ask, well because my Psychicker inflicts piercing damage," Melissa smirked.

"Psychicker your target is Gravekeeper's Chief, Thought Ruler yours is Gravekeeper's Descendant!" Ultimate Psychicker roared and slashed the Chief with its claws, cleaving him in two. Thought Ruler flew up to Gravekeeper's Descendant and raised its one hand, the blond man held his head and screamed before exploding in a burst of pixels.

**(Melissa: 5850) ---- (Phantom Thief: 3700)**

"Now since I'm out of cards I'll end my turn, but I should inform you, that you won't be destroying my Psychicker anyway other than by battle," Melissa smirked.

"No matter I have a monster I can use to destroy it by battle," the Thief smirked. Melissa cocked and eyebrow as he drew. "I summon another Gravekeeper's Cannonholder," a man dressed like all the other Gravekeeper's only he held what looked like a bazooka appeared on the field. (ATK 1400/DEF 1200)

"Now I'll activate Double Summon, which allows me to make a second Normal Summon this turn, so I'll use it to call out the deadly Gravekeeper's Visionary!" Gravekeeper's Cannonholder vanished and a throne made from rock appeared in his place. Seated on the throne was a man dressed in fancy looking garments, the kind you may see on a high priest, he held an ornate staff similar to the one Gravekeeper's Chief and Descendant used, and on his head was a headdress that looked like that of a jackal. (ATK 2000/DEF 1800)

"Ok so I'm betting he has a powerful effect, because his attack points are kind of poor for a monster that requires one release," Melissa commented.

"Heh, heh, of course he actually has three effects, and one of them is he can be called out with one release if that release is a Gravekeeper's monster, because he's actually an eight star monster, his second effect allows him to gain 200 attack points for every Gravekeeper's monster in my Graveyard, and since I sent Gravekeeper's Watcher there with Graceful Charity I have six!" the Visionary began to glow. (ATK 2000-3200/DEF 1800)

"Now I'll equip my Visionary with Junk Barrage, this is a powerful equip card and when my Visionary destroys one of your monsters you receive half the attack points of the destroyed monster!" the jackal headed Gravekeeper's staff began to glow fiery red.

"Gravekeeper's Visionary attack her Ultimate Psychicker with Wrath of Ra!" the jackal headed priest pointed his staff at Melissa's monster and fired a blast of energy striking the larger monster in the chest. It groaned and then shattered into pixels. But the blast kept going and struck Melissa in the chest.

**(Melissa: 4100) ---- (Phantom Thief: 3700)**

"Now I'll end my turn," the Thief smirked.

Melissa growled and drew. She scowled and turned Thought Ruler Archfiend's card sideways, causing the large demonic looking monster to cover itself with its wings. "That's all I can do."

"You, Ms. Yoshiro lose, because I discard my Gravekeeper's Commandant to add Necrovalley from my Deck to my hand," the masked man slid a monster into his Graveyard and card popped out of his Deck.

"And of course I activate it!" the lab vanished and Melissa and the Thief were back in the canyon. (ATK 3200-3700/DEF 1800-2300)

"Now I summon Gravekeeper's Spy," a man dressed like his comrades only with a turban on his head walked onto the field. (ATK 1200-1700/DEF 2000-2500)

"Visionary destroy her Thought Ruler Archfiend!" the priest fired his lethal spell at the demonic looking monster.

**(Melissa: 2750) ---- (Phantom Thief: 3700)**

"Gravekeeper's Spy direct attack!" the other monster rushed forward and then the Thief's face down card flipped open. "And I'll also activate Magician's Circle, so we may each Special Summon a Spellcaster monster from our Decks, so long as said monster doesn't have more than 2000 attack points."

"But I don't have any Spellcaster monsters," Melissa said.

"Well I have plenty and I'll use it to call out Gravekeeper's Watcher," a circle with an odd mark in it appeared behind the Thief and from it appeared a man dressed like the other Gravekeeper's and in his hand was a stone tablet. (ATK 1000-1500/DEF 1000-1500)

The spy punched Melissa in the stomach causing her to double over and gasp.

**(Melissa: 1050) ---- (Phantom Thief: 3700)**

"Now since it's still my Battle Phase, Watcher end this duel!" Gravekeeper's Watcher raised his free hand and fired a blast of energy at Melissa. She screamed and was thrown to the ground.

**(Melissa: 0) ---- (Phantom Thief: 3700)**

Just then her Duel Disk began to spark and the Life Points meter exploded as smoke poured from the circuitry.

"Heh, heh," the Thief laughed as he slow walked over to Melissa, who was just standing up. "You really should stay down!" he shouted and as he reached the word 'down' he kicked her in the stomach. This caused her to scream in pain and crumple.

He detached the cable from her Duel Disk and picked it up. He opened the Extra Deck slot and took a Synchro monster and then an Effect monster and Trap card from her Deck, finally he took the Ultimate Psychicker from her Graveyard and then slid them into his pocket as he walked off.

Melissa grabbed her Duel Disk and looked in the Extra Deck slot, then she started to sob. "No he took the card they gave me," she wailed.

**Reina: That bastard! When I get a hold of him I'll kill him!**

**Zeke: Try to calm down Reina, getting angry won't help.**

**Rob: No but we need to find this guy, before he strikes again.**

**Josh: Unfortunately that isn't going to happen.**

**Alexandria: The Thief makes a challenge to one of Reina's crew, but who.**

**Melissa: Don't miss, Awakening the Great Beasts!**

**Zeke: Also the boss doesn't own Yu-gi-oh! It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.**

**Rob: Also brownie points for anyone who can correctly name the three unknown cards the Thief took from Mel.**

**Original Card**

Spellbook Inside the Pot

Image: The pot of Greed with three spell books floating out of it.

| Spell | Both players draw three cards.

(This card was first used by Jaden Yuki's manga counterpart in chapter 32, creative credit goes to the writers of that chapter.)


	9. Ch9: Awakening the Great Beasts

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Nine: Awakening the Great Beasts

Duel Academy, the following day lunchtime

Reina, Zeke and Rob were all sitting at a table in the lunchroom. "So have either of you two seen Mel today?" Rob asked.

Both Reina and Zeke shook their heads. "Maybe she got sick," Zeke said.

Just then Melissa plopped down next to Rob. "Hey guys," she muttered.

They all blinked in confusion at the way her voice sounded so choked. "Mel, is something wrong?" Reina asked.

Melissa didn't do anything for a moment and then she started to cry. "He, took the card my friends gave me before I moved away," she sobbed.

"You don't mean….?" Reina gasped.

Melissa just nodded. "Damn it!" Reina snarled as she stood up and punched the table. "I'll kill him!"

Zeke placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to sit down. "Getting angry won't help, no we need to think."

"Zeke I really hate it when you're right," Reina sighed.

"So Mel, what did he take from you?" Rob asked.

"The Ultimate Psychicker card I traded Ami for, my Hyper Psychic Blaster, my Assault Mode Activate and Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode," Melissa told them.

"And what was the card you're friends gave you before you moved," Zeke inquired.

"Hyper Psychic Blaster, it's the main reason I chose to use Psychic monsters," Melissa said.

"We need to figure out how we can stop this guy," Reina said. "Before he strikes again." The others nodded in unison.

"Ok we can meet at that new pizza place tonight at eight to plan something, just remember to be careful," she said. "Oh and Mel, what kind of Deck does this bastard use?"

"Gravekeeper's," Melissa said and the other's cocked an eyebrow.

"Really, is he doing that to be ironic?" Rob asked.

"He said he doesn't have a reason, but yes he does like the irony," Melissa replied.

"Hmph, a Thief using Gravekeeper's it seems so wrong," Reina muttered.

"Yes it does and he used from kind of…..well I'm not sure what you'd call it, but it was like a grapple with something to attach to the Duel Disk, and whoever lost, their Duel Disk was destroyed," Melissa sighed.

"I'll ask my dad to repair your Duel Disk as well as Josh's," Reina said.

"Thanks Reina, but you three should be careful," Melissa warned. "You should be especially careful Reina."

Reina nodded. "Ya I know I have a one of a kind card in my Extra Deck," she murmured.

Zeke rubbed his chin. "Hmmm, maybe we could use Black Rose Dragon as bait."

Reina growled and gave Zeke a look that made him cringe in terror. "Zeke that would be an incredibly bad idea," she growled.

Zeke nodded furiously. "Ok so maybe we could…….ok I have no clue what we should do."

"Like Mel said we just have to watch our backs," Rob said.

They nodded and the bell rung. "Well we should head for class," Reina said. "Ugh, I have a test in Duel History."

-****-

A few hours later

The final bell rung and Zeke walked to his locker. He opened it and something fell out, it was an envelope. He picked it up and cocked an eyebrow. Written on it in very neat writing was the word 'challenge'.

He opened it and read it. The note said. 'I am the one who defeated your friend and Joshua Atlas' girlfriend and stole their rare cards, as well as the cards of several other duelists in this city. If you wish to win them back then meet me at the New Domino City Docks at eight PM don't be late.' It was signed from the Phantom Thief but Zeke gasped, the note was meant for Reina, not him.

"Like hell I'm letting this guy try to take Reina's cards, he'll have to go through me," he said before stuffing the note into his pocket and walking out the door.

-****-

The Docks seven fifty-eight PM.

Zeke stood next to his Duel Runner impatiently tapping his foot. "Where is that bastard," he growled looking at the clock on the bikes console.

"Why I'm right here, but why are you?" asked a sinister voice from behind the silver haired boy.

Zeke spun around. "You!" he shouted. Standing only a few feet away was none other than the Phantom Thief.

"Yes me," he said. "You're Zeke Kessler. Son of Kalin and Misty Kessler, born March sixth at two AM, you have three Decks, one that utilizes a various mix of Fiends, another that uses Archfiends and finally one that uses the rare Infernity archetype."

Zeke's eyes narrowed. "Ok how did you know all of that?"

"Quite simple boy, I know much about all I intend to hunt down, you see I want your Infernity cards, because as I said, they're very, very rare," the Thief smirked.

"So you put that note in my locker to lure me out here?" Zeke asked.

"No," the Thief said flatly and Zeke fell forward. "I must have put it in the wrong locker, I was hoping to steal Reina Fudo's Black Rose Dragon, I could fetch a mint for that card alone, but considering I'll sell it along with the other four Signer Dragons and Power Tool Dragon, I'll be a very rich man!"

"Like hell I'm letting that happen!" Zeke shouted. "You'll get to Reina when you get past me!"

"Hmmm, well why must I ask are you seeking to protect her so adamantly?" the Thief asked.

"She's my friend," Zeke replied.

"Heh, heh, no I think you harbour some feelings for her, but you're too much of a little chicken shit to admit it," the masked man laughed.

"Shove it!" Zeke snapped.

"Me thinks I struck a nerve," the Thief laughed.

"Fine boy I'll duel you and like your friend Ms Yoshiro, I will defeat you and take all of your rare cards!"

"Over my dead body you will!" Zeke shouted activating his Duel Disk.

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Phantom Thief: 8000)**

"Yo buddy, before we start this duel, do you mind telling me your name?" Zeke asked.

"No I'd rather not, for you see anyone I tell my name to, well I kill them to keep them silent, and I have a policy against killing minors," the Thief stated.

"Whatever," Zeke muttered.

The Thief swung the grapple above his head and threw it forward attaching it to Zeke's Duel Disk before attaching it to his own.

"I'll go first!" Zeke shouted pulling his sixth card off the top of his Deck. "I'll start this off by summoning Infernity Necromancer!" an explosion of darkness erupted behind Zeke and from it emerged a skeletal creature with wild green hair dressed in a black cloak. (ATK 0/DEF 2000)

"And when this guy is summoned he automatically switches to defense mode!" the Fiend covered itself with its bony arms.

"Now I set two cards face down and end my turn," Zeke said.

Just as the Thief went to draw his next card, Zeke's one face down card flipped open. "Reveal face down card! Full Salvo, now I send every card in my hand to the Graveyard and then you take 200 points of damage for each card, and I'm holding three right now!" a large missile launcher appeared behind Zeke. It opened up and fired three rockets at the Thief.

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Phantom Thief: 7400)**

"Hmmm so your 'Handless Combo' has been started eh?" the Thief said. "Oh well, no matter."

"I activate Necrovalley!" the Thief shouted and Zeke gasped as they were suddenly transported to the canyon. "I take it you know this card's effect, well then you know cards that target the Graveyard, like your Necromancer are now useless! And on top of that my Gravekeeper's only get stronger!"

"I'll set a monster and a card face down and end my turn," he sneered.

"_Damn it!" _Zeke screamed in his head. _"How could I be so stupid? My Infernity cards use the Graveyard as a resource and a fairly big one, but now I've been cut off."_

He drew and smirked. "I just drew my Infernity Archfiend and since I'm holding no other cards I can Special Summon this guy!" in another explosion of darkness emerged another wicked looking monster.

It had purple skin and four eerie red eyes and a green jewel on its forehead and fire like orange hair, it was dressed in a black cloak. (ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"And I'm not done yet!" he shouted. "Since I just Special Summoned this guy I can now add one Infernity card from my Deck to my hand, I'll choose the Trap card Infernity Barrier!" a card slid out of Zeke's Deck.

"Now I'll set that face down and then activate my face down card, a very rare Trap card known as Co-Existence!" the card flipped open revealing a picture of a frozen tundra and a charred wasteland right next to each other.

"For someone like you this card would be very useful for Turbo Dueling," Zeke smirked.

"What is that card?" the Thief growled. "I've never heard of it."

"Ya I figured as much," Zeke said. "I won this last year at the Kaiba Land Cup, and it has a useful effect, I select one Field Spell card in my Deck then I send it to the Graveyard and as long as this Trap card remains face up its name and effect are treated as the discarded Field Spell."

"So do you plan on sending Mystic Plasma Zone to the Graveyard, because that would be very unwise," the Thief smirked.

"Nope I don't plan on using that card in his duel, in fact my only copy was in my opening hand," Zeke said. "No I send the Field Spell Realm of Insanity from my Deck to the Graveyard!"

The Trap card started to glow as part of the canyon vanished and was replaced with a blasted wasteland, the sky was pitch black except for the occasional bolt of lightning, which appeared to be purple.

"Where in the hell is this place?" the Thief demanded.

"This you slime ball is where all Infernity monsters go when they die, but to them it's heaven," Zeke grinned. "This card has two effects, they depend on whether I'm holding or not holding cards, if I have any cards in my hand and one of my Infernity monsters would be destroyed by card effect I can discard one card to negate the destruction of that monster, if I have no card in my hand all Infernity monsters gain 400 attack and defense points and inflict piercing damage." (ATK 0-400/DEF 2000-2400) (ATK 1800-2200/DEF 1200-1600)

"Ok since I have a pretty good idea what your face down monster is I'll simply end my turn," he smirked.

"Heh, fool it won't matter what you do for I flip my Gravekeeper's Guard face up!" the face down monster spun around revealing the bald man. (ATK 1000-1500/DEF 1900-2400) "Now your Necromancer is going back to your hand!" the Guard pointed his spear at the skeletal Fiend.

But Zeke's face down card flipped open. "Sorry loser!" he shouted. "But I reveal my face down card, it's called Infernity Barrier and since have no cards in my hand and control an attack mode Infernity monster your Guard is destroyed and its effect is negated!" a barrier made of crystal appeared around Zeke's two monsters. Gravekeeper's Guard screamed and exploded into pixels.

"Heh, heh, I must admit boy you seem to be much stronger than your friend," the Thief laughed.

"I'll take that as a compliment, now would you mind finishing your move, you jackass?" Zeke asked faking politeness.

"I summon Gravekeeper's Assailant to the field," the robed assassin jumped on to the field brandishing her knife. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1500-2000)

"Now I'll have her attack your Archfiend and since Necrovalley is activate it'll be forced into defense mode!" the assassin jumped forward and the purple skinned Fiend crossed his arms over his chest. The assassin raised her weapon and drove it between the Fiend's shoulders killing it.

"Heh, I'll simply set a card face down and then turn end," the Thief smirked.

"You really must like the sound of your own voice you giant prick," Zeke said. (ATK 400-0/DEF 2400-2000)

He looked at the card he'd draw and smirked. "Well lookie here, I just drew my Pot of Greed and you know what I'm going to play it!" the grinning jar appeared and Zeke quickly drew two cards.

"I activate Heavy Storm!" he shouted and a powerful wind kicked up. "Now all Spell and Trap cards are destroyed!" his Co-Existence card as well the Thief's Necrovalley and face down Magician's Circle card shattered. (ATK 2000-1500/DEF 2000-1500)

"Now I'm free to use my Necromancer's effect, but first I'll set my last card face down so my Handless Combo may begin again!" Zeke declared. "Now I revive my Infernity Archfiend!" the orange haired Fiend appeared in a flash of darkness.

"Now I can use his effect again and add Infernity Destroyer to my hand from my Deck," the card slipped out of Zeke's Deck.

"Ok time to meet one of my heavy hitters," he said. "I release my Necromancer, since if you play another Necrovalley he'll be useless, and in his place I call out Infernity Destroyer!" Infernity Necromancer laughed and dissolved into motes of black light. The motes merged to form a hulking purple skinned Fiend, who on its shoulders had silver armor. (ATK 2300/DEF 1000)

"Infernity Destroy attack Gravekeeper's Assailant with Hell Breath!" the Fiend roared and breathed a stream of black flames that engulfed the assassin.

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Phantom Thief: 6600)**

"Oh and it only gets worse for you," Zeke smirked. "Because now you take 1600 points of damage since I just toasted one of your monsters and I'm holding no cards!" Infernity Destroyer punched the Thief in the stomach.

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Phantom Thief: 5000)**

"And I'm not done yet!" he laughed. "Infernity Archfiend attack with Hell Pressure!" the gem on the head of the four eyed Fiend began to glow and then a seal appeared in the sky. A massive hand made of dark energy descended down and hit the Thief knocking him down.

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Phantom Thief: 3200)**

"Man I'm good," Zeke grinned. "I just halved your Life Points in one move, so how did you beat Mel, dumb luck?"

The Thief dusted himself off and sneered. "No you fool for you see I have only begun to fight!"

"Right well I'll end my turn," Zeke said with a shrug.

The Thief drew and began to laugh. "Hmmm, my dad always did say psychotic laugher was a bad sign, of course he'd know that pretty well," he Zeke muttered with a large drop of sweat rolling down the back of his head.

"I activate the power of Lightning Vortex and thanks to this deadly Spell card I just discard one card and all your face up monsters die!" bolts of lightning rained down from the heavens and obliterated Zeke's monsters much to his dismay.

"Now I use Monster Reborn to revive my Gravekeeper's Curse, which I just discarded," a man in robes like the other Gravekeeper's appeared from the holy ankh, he held a staff shaped like a question mark. (ATK 800/DEF 800)

"Since I just summoned him you take 500 points of damage!" Gravekeeper's Curse's staff began to glow yellow as did Zeke. But the glow changed to red and Zeke cried out in pain.

**(Zeke: 7500) ---- (Phantom Thief: 3200)**

"What the hell that really hurt!" he shouted. "You…..you can't be a….Psychic Duelist can you?"

"No I'm not a monster unlike your friend and her pathetic mother," the Thief laughed.

"Never call Reina or her mother a monster, or I'll thrown off my Duel Disk and kick your ass up and down these docks!" Zeke snarled.

"Heh, I knew you had feelings for that little bitch, well in case you forgot once I defeat you and enrage her further, I'll challenge her and then take her Black Rose Dragon card, and I just got a wonderful idea, I'll also kidnap her and demander Stardust Dragon as well as Surging Dragon Knight Dragoequites from her father!" the Thief said before throwing his head back and laughing.

What he didn't notice was Zeke charging up to him. When he stopped laughing he lowered his head just in time for Zeke's fist to slam into his face.

The Thief lay on the ground with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He stood up and growled. "You little prick I'll make sure you suffer because of that."

"Bring it on you…." what Zeke said next cannot be written down.

"My you have quite the foul mouth, oh well I activate Pot of Greed," the jar appeared yet again and the Thief drew twice.

"Now I release my Gravekeeper's Curse to call out Gravekeeper's Chief!" the leader of the tomb guardians appeared and glared at Zeke. (ATK 1900/DEF 1200)

"Now I use his effect to revive my Gravekeeper's Curse!" the man with the question mark shaped staff appeared yet again. And again Zeke cried out in pain as the glow covered him.

**(Zeke: 7000) ---- (Phantom Thief: 3200)**

"Both my monsters attack him directly!" both Spellcaster's raised their staves and fired blasts of magic at Zeke.

**(Zeke: 4300) ---- (Phantom Thief: 3200)**

Zeke groaned and stood up. _"Ok when did I lose control of this duel?"_ he asked himself.

"Heh, well boy just to tell you these holograms are very real, much like your beloved one's powers allow," the Thief snickered.

"Ya so I have feelings for her, what of it?" Zeke retorted.

"I'll simply end my turn by setting my last card face down," the Thief said.

Zeke drew. _"Damn this is the major problem this Deck has, I'm forced to rely on top Decking, luckily it seems my luck is good today."_

"I activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and Zeke drew three cards before handing the angel two of them.

"I'll set a monster face down and well then I'll end my turn," he said.

"Heh, heh your Handless Combo may be powerful but it had several deadly flaws," the Thief laughed.

"Gravekeeper's Chief attack his face down monster!" the Chief raised his staff and fired a blast of energy that struck the face down monster.

But it merely bounced off a large blue shied with fire and a skull in the center. (ATK 1200/DEF 1700) "Say hello to the invincible Infernity Guardian and since I'm holding no cards it is truly the ultimate shield," Zeke explained.

"Fine boy but you are merely delaying the inevitable," the Thief growled. "I'll move Gravekeeper's Curse into defense mode and end my turn by activating my Trap card, the deadly Pyramid of Light!" a ball of light appeared above the two duelists and four beams of light spread from it forming into a square based pyramid.

"Ok does it do anything?" Zeke asked.

"In a sense, it does things indirectly and as I said my turn is over," the Thief sneered.

"_Ok I don't get it this card does nothing…..so far, but it's giving me the creeps,"_ Zeke thought as he drew.

"I'll set this card face down and end my turn," he said aloud.

The Thief drew and shrugged. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"I activate Call of the Haunted so Infernity Destroyer is back!" Zeke shouted as the hulking Fiend burst from the ground.

"Now I'll set the monster in my hand face down, then I'll have Infernity Destroyer attack your Gravekeeper's Chief!" the armored Fiend roared and breathed another wave of black flames. "And don't forget his effect!" he then slugged the Thief.

**(Zeke: 4300) ---- (Phantom Thief: 1200)**

"Well, well all I have to do destroy your Gravekeeper's Curse next turn and I win!" Zeke laughed.

"Since you don't have any cards in your hand I take it you end your turn?" the Thief asked.

"Yes I do," the Fiend duelist replied.

"Good because I will pay 1000 Life Points to call out my two mightiest beasts, come forth Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia!" the Pyramid shone with a malicious light and two massive Beasts emerged.

The first was standing on two legs with blue armor covering his chest and a mane of yellow hair around his head. (ATK 3000/DEF 2500) The other had the body of a cat and tiny wings on her back and the head of a woman with crimson hair. (ATK 2500/DEF 3000)

**(Zeke: 4300) ---- (Phantom Thief: 200)**

"Of course if I Normal or Special Summon either of them, then they may not attack but unless you happen to summon Infernity Death Dragon you can't beat these two," the Thief laughed.

"Now my turn ends and your end begins!" he shouted.

"Wow that was about as lame as you could get," Zeke muttered. "I'll set this card face down and switch my Infernity Destroyer into defense mode and end my turn."

"I activate The Gift of Greed, so now you must draw twice," the Thief laughed as Zeke's eyes widened in terror.

A box appeared at his feet and the front fell open revealing the Pot of Greed. Zeke snarled and drew twice.

"Now I'll switch my Gravekeeper's Curse into attack mode," the almost forgotten monster stood up and smirked.

"Oh shit!" Zeke shouted. "I totally forgot about him, what with the gruesome twins appearing."

"And it shall cost you dearly! Gravekeeper Curse attack his face down monster," the Gravekeeper raised his staff and fired a blast of energy. It hit the face down monster obliterating a short portly man holding a large axe.

"Teleia attack his Guardian!" Teleia roared and her face became more feral and she pounced on the fiendish shield, after she had crushed it the smacked Zeke with one of her front paws causing him to scream in pain.

**(Zeke: 3450) ---- (Phantom Thief: 200)**

"Care to explain what just happened," Zeke growled.

"Heh, gladly, you see since Teleia destroyed a defense mode monster you take damage equal to half the destroyed monster's defense points," the Thief explained with a nasty smirk.

"Andro Sphinx attack his Infernity Destroyer with Wrathful Shout!" the more humanoid Sphinx roared blowing Infernity Destroyer to shards, he then punched Zeke causing to boy to scream in agony as it sent him flying back and crashing into the ground.

**(Zeke: 2300) ---- (Phantom Thief: 200)**

"Well next turn it's over!" the Thief shouted as Zeke slowly picked himself up.

"That's what you say, but I'll turn this around!" Zeke shouted.

The Thief just waved his hand to signal that his turn was over. Zeke drew and his face became extremely pale. "Drew something that can't help you?" the masked man asked.

Zeke nodded and the Thief drew. "As I said normally I have a policy against killing minors but in your case I'll make an exception!" he roared. "Andro Sphinx end this fools life!"

Andro Sphinx raised his massive fist and Zeke closed his eyes expecting to feel the bone crushing impact any second. But to his surprise he heard a slightly familiar roar followed by a loud splash.

He opened his eyes and saw Black Rose Dragon standing between the two duelists. She looked at him and then used her claw to slice the cord in half just before Zeke's Life Points hit zero.

**(Zeke: 0) ---- (Phantom Thief: 200)**

"Zeke are you alright!?" Reina shouted as she ran up to her friend. "Hey I asked you a question, are you alright?"

Zeke pulled Reina into a hug much to her surprise. "Thank god Reina!" he cried. Reina's cheeks started to turn bright red. "I thought I was about to bite the big one!"

"Ok so I'm going to say you're alright and could you let me go?" Reina asked.

"Ummm ok," he said blushing slightly. "Reina how'd you find me, it's not like I told you where I was going?"

"I know, but when you didn't show up at the pizza place and I called your house and asked your mom where you were, and by the way you scared her half to death, I figured you'd gone to challenge this punk," she said pointing to the Thief who was standing where he'd been standing most of the duel, he looked dumbstruck. "I used Rose Fairy to hunt you down oh ya and Rob and Mel have been looking for you too."

Reina turned to face the Thief. "You are going to pay dearly!" she growled. "You attacked Melissa, who told me you kicked her in the stomach, then you have to nerve to try to kill Zeke, buddy you've dug your own grave!"

"Oh and what are you going to….." the Thief said before Black Rose Dragon cut him off with a low growl.

"Oh I don't know, I could have Black Rose Dragon eat you, but that would destroy all the cards you've stolen and give her indigestion, so I'll make you a deal, give back every card you've taken and I might let you live," Reina said.

"Hmmm a fair offer, but not happening!" the Thief shouted pulling a small round black ball object out from behind his back. He threw it down causing an explosion of smoke.

Reina and Zeke shielded themselves from the smoke and Black Rose Dragon flapped her wings blowing away it away. But the Thief was already gone. "Damn he got away," Zeke said.

"He can't have gotten far and I have to find him," Rein said. Before she could run off Zeke grabbed her arm.

"Hold on Reina there's something I have to tell you," he said softly.

"Ok go ahead," she said.

"I love you," Zeke said and Reina's eyebrows nearly flew off her head.

"What!" she shouted. "Please repeat what you just said, I think I misheard you."

Zeke slowly shook his head. "No you didn't mishear me Reina I do love you and I don't care if you reciprocate those feelings but I had to tell you, especially considering I nearly just died a moment ago."

Reina blinked a few times and then smiled. She put her hands on Zeke shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. "Maybe not one hundred percent, but I do have feelings for you," she said quietly.

Zeke's face turned bright red. "Are you going to be ok if I leave to hunt down that bastard?" Reina asked.

Zeke nodded. "I'll….be fine," he said in a slightly monotone voice.

Reina nodded and ran off after Black Rose Dragon disappeared. Zeke waited until Reina was out of earshot then jumped up and punched the air. "Oh yeah I finally admitted I like her and she likes me back!"

-****-

Somewhere near the docks

The Thief panted and leaned against a wall. "Damn it would've been unwise to have challenged her, she more than likely would've killed me on the spot."

Approaching footsteps caught the masked man's attention and he turned to face the sound. "Lovely evening isn't it?" asked the person.

"Yes it is," the Thief replied as the person stepped into the light of a street lamp, revealing it was none other than Josh Atlas.

"I think you have something that belongs to my girlfriend, so hand over the cards and you can walk away with all of your teeth," he smirked.

"Oh you think you can beat me boy," the Thief chuckled pulling the Fortune Lady cards out of his pocket, along with a lighter. "Or you and I could duel, because if you take one more step I'll torch these cards."

"Ok you do realize if you do that I'll beat you to within an inch of your life?" Josh asked.

"Yes but your precious girlfriend would be heartbroken," the Thief sneered as he flicked the lighter on and brought the flame dangerously close to the cards.

"_Damn it, this bastard is right, those cards were also almost impossible to get!"_ Josh screamed mentally.

"Fine I'll duel you and if you don't give me back those cards when I win, then I'll beat them out of you," Josh threatened activating his Duel Disk.

**Rob: Well so Zeke had feelings for Reina.**

**Melissa: Well he can calm her down when she gets angry.**

**Josh: That idiot finally admitted he likes Reina, hmph good for him.**

**Rob: Like we really care what you think Josh.**

**Melissa: I like it but that means Rob does have anyone he has feelings for or vice versa.**

**Rob: Ya well Hogan men have poor luck with females. **

**Josh: Whatever, the next chapter is called Beast's Fury, don't miss it or you'll miss my duel.**

**Rob: As always the boss doesn't own, Yu-gi-oh! **

**Original Cards**

Co-Existence

Image: A frozen tundra and charred wasteland right next to each other.

| Continuous Trap | When this card is activated select one Field Spell card in your Deck or hand and send it to the Graveyard. This card's name and effect are then treated as the discarded card's effect, as long as this card remains face up on the field.

Realm of Insanity

Image: A blasted wasteland with several dead trees and the silhouettes of Infernity Dwarf, Archfiend, Beast and Destroyer visible.

| Field Spell | This card gains the following effects based on the number of cards in your hand. *0: All 'Infernity' monsters gain 400 attack and defense points and inflict piercing damage. *1+: If an 'Infernity' monster would be destroyed by card effect(s) you may discard one card from your hand to negate the destruction of that monster.


	10. Ch10: Beast's Wrath

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Ten: Beast's Wrath

Josh stood before the Phantom Thief with his Duel Disk activate. "Well are you going to activate your Duel Disk or shall I keep up with my threat and kick some teeth out of your head?"

"Patience, is a virtue Joshua Atlas, but yes let's duel so I may collect your Red Dragon Archfiend," the masked man smirked, activating his Duel Disk.

"Maybe you should take off that mask and show me your face.....Aaron Zebel," Josh said.

The Phantom Thief gasped. "How do you know my name, boy?"

"Quite simple really, we've faced off before and I never forget an opponent or their voice," Josh explained.

The Phantom Thief smirked and pulled his mask off his face and threw it down, then he grabbed the brim of his hand and tossed its behind him. He had curly dark brown hair and grey eyes. "Yes I remember you now, it was a Pro League Exhibition match and you were the random person in the audience who was selected to duel me, five years ago," he said.

"Yes and shortly after that you vanished under mysterious circumstances, most people assumed you had died it some sort of accident, who knew you'd become such scum," Josh spat.

"Heh, heh I left because I was bored, duelling had lost the thrill, so when someone offered me more I gladly took their offer," Aaron laughed.

"I didn't ask for your life story, now let's duel!" Josh shouted.

"Yes lets," Aaron said as both Life Points counter's hit 8000.

**(Josh: 8000) ---- (Aaron: 8000)**

"I'll start us off by summoning Lance Lindwurm to the field!" from behind Josh appeared a humanoid Dragon that appeared to be dressed in bronze armor, in its hands it held a dual pointed lance. (ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"Yes still using your Dragon Beatdown Deck I see," Aaron commented.

"Of course but I've vastly improved it, you told me I was a million years too early to defeat you five years ago, well I'm going to show that I've changed!" Josh declared.

"I'll end my turn by setting two cards face down!" he said.

While the two were distracted with the duel they failed to notice the small pink skinned creature watching them. She turned and flew off around the corner.

"Hmmm, a fairy normal start, but in the end I'll shall still be victorious and to prove this point I shall activate Necrovalley!" the two suddenly found themselves in the sacred burial ground.

"This sure brings back crappy memories, and I know what it does," Josh said. "Your Gravekeeper's gain 500 points for attacking and defending and any effects that target the Graveyard are negated."

"Very good, now I summon Gravekeeper's Descendant," the blond haired man jumped onto the field and smirked when he saw Josh. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1200-1700)

"Attack his Lindwurm with Spell of the Afterlife!" the man raised his staff and fired a burst of darkness blowing Lance Lindwurm to shards.

**(Josh: 7800) ---- (Aaron: 8000)**

"I activate Dragonic Spirit, since a Dragon type monster on my side of the field was destroy by battle I can Special Summon another one from my Deck so long as it's the same level as the destroyed monster, and I choose my Rare Metal Dragon!" in a burst of light appeared a large Dragon with a hide that appeared to be made out of steel with spikes covering its back. (ATK 2400/DEF 1200)

"Hmmm, good choice, I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Aaron said.

"I'll release my Rare Metal Dragon to call out the mighty Strong Wind Dragon!" a portal opened up and Rare Metal Dragon jumped inside. From the portal flew a large Dragon with dark green-blue scales. (ATK 2400/DEF 1000)

"And I think you'll like his effect, because you see since I used a Dragon to summon him he gains half that Dragon's attack points!" a spectral version of Rare Metal Dragon phased into Strong Wind Dragon. (ATK 2400-3600/DEF 1000)

"Attack Gravekeeper's Descendant with Strong Hurricane!" the powerful Dragon reared its head back and then fired power blast of wind that slammed into the blond man shattering him like glass.

**(Josh: 7800) ---- (Aaron: 6400)**

"Now I'll end my turn," Josh smirked.

"Valiant effort Joshua, but in the end as I said I shall be victorious and I shall activate my Rite of Spirit Trap card to prove that!" the strange alter burst out of the ground and with it Gravekeeper's Descendant was returned to being one of the living. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1200-1700)

"Next I shall summon Gravekeeper's Curse!" the man with the question mark shaped staff appeared and the yellow aura surrounding Josh, who gritted his teeth in pain. (ATK 800-1300/DEF 800-1300)

**(Josh: 7300) ---- (Aaron: 6400)**

"I'll activate my Gravekeeper's Descendant's effect and release my Gravekeeper's Curse to destroy your Strong Wind Dragon!" Gravekeeper's Curse dissolved into grains of light and Gravekeeper's Descendant fired a bolt energy eradicating Strong Wind Dragon.

"I activate Dark Wall of Wind!" Josh shouted as a cyclone of wind surrounded him. "Now monsters you control can't attack me directly this turn!"

"Hmmm, no matter I'll set a card face down and that shall be all," Aaron shrugged.

Josh drew and scowled. "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn," he grumbled.

"Heh, heh not having very good luck are we, well my luck seems to be much better, because will release my Gravekeeper's Descendant to unleash the deadly Gravekeeper's Chief!" the leader of the Gravekeeper's appeared where Gravekeeper's Descendant had just been. (ATK 1900-2400/DEF 1200-1700)

"Thanks to his effect Gravekeeper's Descendant will be returning!" Gravekeeper's Chief gestured and his descendant appeared. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1200-1700)

"Gravekeeper's Chief attack with Spell of the Afterlife!" the lead Gravekeeper's fired a blast of magic blowing a Masked Dragon to pieces.

"Thanks now I can Special Summon a weak Dragon from my Deck and I'll go with another Masked Dragon!" the red and white scaled Dragon appeared and crouched defensively. (ATK 1400/DEF 1100)

"Fine I'll have Gravekeeper's Descendant attack that trash!" the blond haired man fired his attack vaporizing the hapless Dragon.

"Well this time I'll call out Magna Drago!" the crimson scaled arrow headed Dragon appeared in a burst of flames. (ATK 1400/DEF 600)

"Hmph you're simply delaying the inevitable," Aaron said.

"That has got to be the single most clichéd villainous line I've ever heard, and is that all you're going to do this turn?" Josh asked.

Aaron looked over his hand and then nodded.

Josh drew and grinned. "Perfect, I activated Dragon Draw and since the only type of monster I control is Dragons I can draw two new cards!" Magna Drago began to glow and Josh pulled two cards off the top of his Deck.

"Now I'll summon my Star Dragon!" a thin Dragon with a jet black hide crawled onto the field. (ATK 1700/DEF 1100)

"And when he's Summoned I can select one monster on the field and then his level is treated as the selected monster's level until the end of the turn, and you know what I'll choose your Gravekeeper's Chief" five white stars appeared along Star Dagon's side. (LVL: 4-5)

"Now I'll tune my level two Magna Drago with my now level five Star Dragon....." he began.

"_Behold the earth shaking power of the king's mightiest servant! His roar causes enemies to flee in terror! Synchro Summon and decimate Exploder Dragonwing!"_

Magna Drago flew into the air with Star Dragon following behind. The red Dragon became two green rings that surrounded the stellar Dragon reducing it to framework.

From the flash of light emerged the dark purple scaled Dragon. It threw back its head and roared. (ATK 2400/DEF 1600)

"Exploder Dragonwing attack his Gravekeeper's Descendant with King Storm," the new Dragon threw back its head and then fired a blast of flames that headed towards the younger Gravekeeper.

"Now I activate his effect King's Wrath, which destroys your monster before damage calculation and hits your Life Points for damage equal to Gravekeeper's Descendant's current attack points!" the flames consumed the blond haired man before he could even cry out. They then flew forward and slammed into Aaron.

Only for a little girl with pink hair in a white dress with a hat shaped like a sheep to appear. She chanted and a glowing circle appeared around Aaron deflecting the flames.

"Heh, heh like my Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment thanks to this handy Trap card all damage to me done by a card effect his reduced to zero," Aaron laughed.

"Whatever at least I destroyed that annoying bastard," Josh said. "Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"So far you've been doing quite well Joshua, but now it won't matter because I release my Gravekeeper's Chief to call out the only person higher among the Gravekeeper's than him, Gravekeeper's Visionary!" Gravekeeper's Chief bowed his head and vanished. In his place appeared the jackal headed high priest. (ATK 2000-2500/DEF 1800-2300)

"Of course I take it you remember his effect, and that is he gains 200 attack points for each Gravekeeper's monster my Graveyard and I have three," Aaron explained. (ATK 2500-3100/DEF 2300)

"Attack his Exploder Dragonwing with your Wrath of Ra!" the jackal headed priest fired a blast of energy that struck the purple scaled Dragon causing it to cry out in pain before it exploded into pixels.

**(Josh: 6600) ---- (Aaron: 6400)**

"Heh, heh now our scores are close," Aaron sneered.

"I'll change that pretty quickly mark my words!" Josh shouted.

"Hmmm, well we'll see then won't we," Aaron mused. "I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."

Josh grimaced when he saw his next card. "I'll set this monster face down and that's all I can do."

"Well Joshua it seems you were wrong because I am about to alter the scores, and quite drastically, because I shall now call forth Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" the spear wielding Gravekeeper jumped onto the field brandishing his weapon. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1000-1500)

"Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier attack his face down monster with Guardian Spear!" Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier rushed forward and impaled a humanoid Dragon with leather armor on, holding a shield and a machete.

**(Josh: 5400) ---- (Aaron: 6400)**

"That was my Troop Dragon and since it was destroyed by battle I get to Special Summon another one from my Deck and it'll obviously be in defense mode," another Dragon man appeared holding his shield up to defend himself. (ATK 700/DEF 800)

"Visionary destroy it with Wrath of Ra!" the priest fired another blast of energy reducing the Dragon to ashes.

"I'll call out another!" another Dragon man appeared again holding his shield up to defend himself.

"I'll end my turn," Aaron sighed. "This is starting to get boring I had planned to crush Reina Fudo and steal her Black Rose Dragon by now."

"Ha," Josh laughed. "Do you really think you could possibly beat Reina, you think too highly of yourself, I may not like her but I respect her skills as a duelist and that's because she's a powerful opponent."

"And yet I am defeating you but that doesn't matter right now, make your move or surrender," Aaron said.

"Fine I release Troop Dragon to call out Kaiser Glider!" Troop Dragon vanished and the Dragon that seemed to be made of gold flew onto the field and let loose a powerful shriek. (ATK 2400/DEF 2200)

"Kill his Spear Soldier with Golden Fire!" Kaiser Glider began to spew fire from its maw until it covered its body. It streaked forward and slammed into Gravekeeper's Spear Solider causing him to burst into flames.

**(Josh: 5400) ---- (Aaron: 6000)**

"Fool you've only made my Visionary stronger," Aaron laughed. (ATK 3100-3300/DEF 2300)

"I'm well aware of that so I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Josh smirked.

"Don't get full of yourself, you haven't won yet and I'm still ahead in all factors of this duel, I have hand, field and Life Points advantage, what do you have one pathetic little Dragon," Aaron spat.

"Visionary destroy it with your Wrath of Ra!" the priest raised his staff and fired a blast of energy that reduced Kaiser Glider to slag.

"I reveal my face down card Hallowed Life Barrier so for this turn only all damage from your cards and effects are reduced to zero and all it costs me is one card," Josh said sliding a card in his hand into the Graveyard.

"You only have one card left on the field and one card in your hand and my Visionary stands strong, you should just surrender and spare yourself the pain," Aaron said tauntingly.

"I'll only tell you this once! That will happen when hell itself freezes over and Satan himself offers free sleigh rides!" Josh roared. "Plus look at your mighty Visionary."

Much to Aaron's horror Gravekeeper's Visionary vanished in a burst of light. "What just happened!" he demanded.

"That would be Kaiser Glider's effect, since it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard one monster on the field is returned to its owner's hand and your Visionary was the only monster on the field at the time," Josh snickered.

Aaron snarled. "You little bastard you tricked me!" he howled.

"No you simply never asked what Kaiser Glider's effect was I would've happily told you now are going to end your turn before or after that vein on your forehead explodes?" Josh asked.

"I'll summon my Gravekeeper's Cannonholder," the cannon wielding man that Aaron used against Melissa appeared on the field. (ATK 1400-1900/DEF 1200-1700)

Josh drew and grinned. "I summon Luster Dragon," a Dragon whose scales appeared to be carved out of sapphire jumped onto the field and snarled at Aaron. (ATK 1900/DEF 1600)

"Now let's get out of this crappy valley and go to a place I truly like, so I play Den of the Red Dragon!" the ground began to shake and the valley was demolished and replaced with a large volcanic mountain range. (ATK 1900-1400/DEF 1700-1200)

"Now I activate Call of the Haunted to revive Kaiser Glider!" the ground exploded and Kaiser Glider jumped out. (ATK 2400-2700/DEF 2200-2500)

"I don't get it what does this place do?" Aaron asked.

"It's actually pretty useful for Dragon duelists like myself for you see all Dragons that are level five or higher gain 300 attack and defense points and it also has another effect but we'll get to that if we have to, for now Luster Dragon attack his Cannonholder with Sapphire Slasher," Luster Dragon snarled and charged forward and slashed the cannon wielding man into pieces.

**(Josh: 5400) ---- (Aaron: 5500)**

"Kaiser Glider attack him directly with Golden Flames!" Kaiser Glider bathed itself in fire and streaked forward.

"I activate Spellbinding Circle, so now your Glider is trapped, it can't attack nor can it change battle modes," Aaron laughed as a mystical circle appeared around Kaiser Glider immobilizing it.

"Damn, fine I'll end my turn," Josh growled.

Aaron drew and scowled "I'll set a monster face down and that's all I can do," he muttered.

"That's all you are Zebel is talk, our scores are almost tied and I now hold field advantage," Josh smirked.

"And now I'll activate Pot of Greed," the grinning jar appeared and Josh snapped two cards off the top of his Deck.

"I release Kaiser Glider to call out Tiger Dragon!" Kaiser Glider disappeared leaving the circle to hang in the air. And in its place appeared a large Dragon covered in orange fur with black stripes. (ATK 2400-2700/DEF 1800-2100)

"Now since I released a Dragon to call this guy out I can destroy up to two of your face down Spell or Trap cards, but since you only have one I'll take it out!" Tiger Dragon breathed a ball of fire that slammed in to Aaron's face down but he only laughed.

Where the face down card used to be a large gold sarcophagus covered with jewels appeared. "Fool you just destroyed my Dark Coffin which activates its effect, you must now choose, lose one random card in your hand, although you only have one, or destroy a monster of your choosing," Aaron laughed.

Josh sighed. "I hate to do this but Luster Dragon goodbye," the coffin appeared below Luster Dragon and pulled it in.

"Tiger Dragon attack with Strike Burst," Tiger Dragon's claws began to glow and it flew forward and cleaved the face down monster in two.

"Thank you because you just destroyed my Gravekeeper's Spy and now I can call out a Gravekeeper's monster with 1500 or less attack points I think I'll call out another Spy," a man with a turban wrapped around his head and like most of the other Gravekeeper's he wore a black cloak. (ATK 1200/DEF 2000)

"I'll set a face down and end my turn," Josh said sliding his last card into his Duel Disk.

"Well I hope you've been waiting to meet an old friend so welcome back Gravekeeper's Visionary and I now have seven Gravekeeper's in my Graveyard," the jackal headed priest appeared on the field and seemed to glare at Josh. (ATK 2000-3400/DEF 1800)

"Well that won't matter in about a second because I activate Fiendish Chain and select your Visionary so now it cannot attack and its effects are negated!" Josh said as chains burst out of the ground and snared the priest. (ATK 3400-2000/DEF 1800)

"Damn you Joshua Atlas," Aaron snarled. "I will set a card face down and end my turn."

Josh drew and smirked. "Time to bring out my heavy hitter, I summon Dread Dragon," the brown Dragon with dreadlocks flew onto the field. (ATK 1100/DEF 400)

"Now I tune my level six, Tiger Dragon with my level two, Dread Dragon....." he began.

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" _

Dread Dragon flew into the air and became two green rings that surrounded Tiger Dragon, this reduced it to framework. The light exploded revealing the demonic looking Dragon who roared causing geysers of lava to erupt from the surrounding volcanoes. (ATK 3000-3300/DEF 2000-2300)

"Now the second effect of my Den of the Red Dragon would activate but the right conditions haven't been met, oh well."

"Red Dragon Archfiend attack his monster with Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon Archfiend roared as its hand burst into flames. He flew forward and slashed Gravekeeper's Visionary causing the priest to cry out in pain as he was consumed by the flames.

**(Josh: 5400) ---- (Aaron: 4200)**

"I activate my face down card the dreaded Pyramid of Light!" the ball of light flew out of the card and four beams of light spilt from it forming the pyramid shape.

"Am I supposed to be scared? Your shiny pyramid hasn't done anything," Josh said.

"Oh you'll soon know the meaning of terror, just end your turn for now," Aaron said ominously.

"Fine I end my turn," Josh said.

"I give up 1000 Life Points to Special Summon Sphinx Teleia and Andro Sphinx both in defense mode," the female sphinx with crimson hair and a lion like body appeared in a burst of light. (ATK 2500/DEF 3000) A moment later the male of the two appeared with his golden mane and dark blue armor. (ATK 3000/DEF 2500)

**(Josh: 5400) ---- (Aaron: 3200)**

"I am not impressed, you summoned two monsters that are clearly weaker than Red Dragon Archfiend, the fish they served in the cafeteria last week smelled better than this," Josh said.

"I'll end my turn," Aaron said much to Josh's shock.

"_Ok he's up to something, it's like he wants be to attack those two monstrosities, but should I pass up an opportunity like this?" _Josh asked himself.

"Red Dragon Archfiend attack his Sphinx Teleia with Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon Archfiend roared and struck Teleia with his burning hand.

"Now his effect activates and since he attacked a defense mode monster all monsters in defense mode are destroyed, Demon Meteor!" Red Dragon Archfiend opened his maw and spewed fire incinerating the sphinxes.

"Now the third effect of my Den of the Red Dragon activates and for every monster destroyed by his Demon Meteor effect you get hit for 500 points of damage!" Red Dragon Archfiend roared and spat two balls of flame that struck Aaron.

**(Josh: 5400) ---- (Aaron: 2200)**

"Heh, heh, well I activate the effect of my ultimate monster, I pay 500 Life and then I get to call out Theinen the Great Sphinx!" the Pyramid of Light began to flash and a massive blast of light struck the field. Josh covered his eyes but when he uncovered them he couldn't help but gasp. The monster that appeared was huge, from the waist down it had the body of Sphinx Teleia only with larger wings but from the waist up it had the body of Andro Sphinx. (ATK 3500/DEF 3000)

**(Josh: 5400) ---- (Aaron: 1700)**

"Holy crap," Josh gasped.

"Look upon the instrument of your destruction and my instrument of claiming your Red Dragon!" Aaron laughed.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Josh said.

"Fool in the end that won't save you!" Aaron declared. "I activate Brain Control and all I have to do is pay 800 Life Points and then for this turn your Red Dragon Archfiend is mine!" a large brain floated up behind Aaron and two ghostly hands stretched out and grabbed Red Dragon Archfiend and pulled it over to Aaron's side of the field.

**(Josh: 5400) ---- (Aaron: 900)**

"You wouldn't dare," Josh growled.

"Don't I have no plans to attack you with your own monster, but I will activate Megamorph which since my Life Points are lower than yours doubles my Theinen's original attack points!" a strange symbol appeared on Theinen's chest and he started to grow until he was twice his original size. (ATK 3500-7000/DEF 3000)

"End this with Judgement Flames!" Theinen opened his mouth and began to gather blue flames. He roared unleashing a hellish torrent of fire towards Josh.

"I activate Waboku!" someone jumped in front of Josh and a clear barrier appeared around him and the other person.

**(Josh: 0) ---- (Aaron: 900)**

"Looks like I jumped in just in time," the person said snapping Josh out of the trance he was in. They tapped him on the forehead. "Josh are you alright, any injuries?"

Josh shook his head. "Reina what are you doing here?" he asked. The person standing in front of him was indeed Reina.

"Well saving your ungrateful butt it looks like, but I came to bring that guy down," she said pointing to Aaron. "I had Rose Fairy tracking him and she alerted me to where he was. I got here about the same time you first took out his Visionary."

"Good, Ms. Fudo you're here then I have no need to track you down," Aaron grinned.

"Save it buddy, now come quietly or I'll drag you in kicking and screaming or rather my monsters will," Reina said with a smirk.

"Oh will you?" Aaron asked.

"Yes now deactivate your Duel Disk or prepare for some pain," Reina threatened.

"Hmmm, that doesn't sit very well with me, no you see I'm calling the shots, and if you don't do as I say I'll tear this into tiny pieces," he said holding up the Red Dragon Archfiend card.

"You wouldn't dare," Reina and Josh both growled.

"Maybe I would maybe I wouldn't, but if Ms. Fudo agrees to duel me with her Black Rose Dragon on the line, then this card will live to see another day," Aaron said.

"Ok not that I'm questioning this deal or anything but wouldn't it make more sense to just force me to hand over Black Rose Dragon?" Reina asked.

"Yes that would be easier but much, much less fun, I prefer to enjoy myself and experience the thrill of the hunt so I'll duel you and when I defeat you as I defeated Mr. Atlas I will take Black Rose Dragon and you'll never see it again," Aaron laughed.

"Bring it on scum," Reina growled activating her Duel Disk.

**Zeke: Man even Josh failed to beat this guy.**

**Rob: Ya, but Reina can win, I know it.**

**Melissa But he defeated Josh you know the guy who beat Reina a few days ago.**

**Rob: Yes but Reina has beaten Josh before as well, so we have to hope and pray.**

**Zeke: Well I believe in Reina.**

**Alexandria: Reina squares off against Aaron Zebel with two of the five Dragons hanging in the balance, don't miss The Black Rose's Might.**

**Josh: You can't lose Reina. Also the guy who calls himself our boss doesn't own Yu-gi-oh!**

**Original Cards**

Dragonic Spirit

Image: The spirit of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon rising out of King Dragun's body.

| Trap | Activate this card when a Dragon type monster on your side of the field is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard. Select and Special Summon one Dragon type monster from your Deck whose level matches the level of the destroyed monster.

Dark Wall of Wind

Image: A man surrounded by a swirling vortex of black wind.

| Quick-Play Spell | Monster's your opponent controls cannot attack you directly this turn.

(This card was first used by Yami Marik in episode 126 of the original Yu-gi-oh! Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Dragon Draw

Image: Felgrand Dragon handing a duelist two cards.

| Spell | Activate this card when the only type of monster you control is Dragon. Draw two cards from your Deck.

Star Dragon

Light | Level 4 | Dragon/Effect | 1700/1100 | When this card is Summoned you may select one monster on the the field and have this monster's level be treated as the selected monster's level until the End Phase.

Den of the Red Dragon

Image: Several volcanic mountains with the silhouette of Red Dragon Archfiend sitting on one of them.

| Field Spell | All Dragon type monsters that are level 5 or higher gain 300 attack and defense points. When the controller of this card successfully Synchro Summons Red Dragon Archfiend you may destroy monsters in defense mode equal to the number of Synchro Material monsters used in its Synchro Summoning. When monsters your opponent controls are destroyed by the effect of Red Dragon Archfiend inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent for each monster destroyed.


	11. Ch11: The Black Rose's Might

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Eleven: The Black Rose's Might

Reina stood before Aaron Zebel with Josh standing behind her. "Hey Josh, do you recognise this guy, I know I've seen him somewhere before," she said.

"Ya his name is Aaron Zebel and until five years ago he was known as the Gravekeeper's King, considered the best to ever use the Gravekeeper's strategy, but he just up and vanished without so much as a goodbye to his friends and family, and most assumed he'd met his end in a tragic accident," Josh explained.

"I remember now he beat you into the ground during that exhibition match, and it looks like he's improved somewhat since then," Reina said sucking air through her teeth.

Aaron smirked. "Heh, heh, flattery will get you nowhere Ms. Fudo, now shall we begin this duel or should I proceed to tear Red Dragon Archfiend to shreds?"

Unbeknownst to the three duelists they were being watched. A nearby security camera swivelled around and pointed at them. It had a small but powerful microphone attached to it so it could hear every word they said.

The person who'd shown some sort of interest in the Five Dragons was seated at their desk their computer connected to the cameras feed. The person squeezed the mouse so tightly it began to creek. "That fool if he destroys that card my plans will be ruined!" they roared.

Miranda was watching with a playful smirk on her face. "Shall I send one of 'them' to intercept him?" she asked.

The person took a deep breath. "No, only if he is stupid enough to destroy that card, we haven't gathered enough energy from it yet," they said and Miranda nodded.

"We're so close, soon all of your planning will yield results that will make you more powerful than anyone in the word," Miranda said.

"Yes then we can reshape the world as we see fit," a voice new said.

"Hmmm, yes soon, very soon the world will change, and Xander if Zebel should fail or foolishly cause any damage to Black Rose Dragon or Red Dragon Archfiend before the necessary energy is drained from them you are to silence him, am I clear?" the hidden person asked.

"Clear as crystal boss," the person known as Xander grinned pulling the door open and stepping out into the hallway.

"I think that boy loves his job a tad too much," Miranda chuckled.

"Duel!" both duelists shouted as their Life Points counters rose.

**(Reina: 8000) - (Aaron: 8000)**

"I'm going to be kind and let you go first slime ball," Reina said.

"Why thank you," Aaron replied sarcastically.

"I'll set a card face down and then activate Necrovalley!" the ground shook as the stone walls rose up and the three were now standing in the canyon.

"I know what this does no need to explain," Reina interrupted Aaron as he was about to speak.

"Fine I'll summon the mighty Gravekeeper's Commandant!" a man with a jackal shaped mask covering the upper part of his face jumped onto the field, he wore a black jacket and a baggy pair of beige pants. (ATK 1600-2100/DEF 1500-2000)

"That will do for my first turn," he sneered.

"Hmmm, not a bad opening move, but mine will be better," Reina grinned snapping her sixth card off the top of her Deck.

"Ok I'll set a monster and then turn end," she said as Josh sweatdropped.

"_She hardly did anything at all,"_ he thought.

Aaron smirked "I don't think you're taking me very seriously, well in the end that will be your downfall!" he laughed.

"I shall call forth my Gravekeeper's Assailant!" the cloaked assassin jumped out of the shadows and glared at Reina. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1500-2000)

"Gravekeeper's Commandant, lead the charge and destroy her face down monster!" the masked monster raised one of his hands and fired a blast of energy at Reina's face down monster.

It was revealed to be a large hedge with brown leaves and large segmented vines that seemed to be filled with snapping teeth. (ATK 0/DEF 2100)

"Looks like my Hedge Guard's defense was too much for your Commandant to crack, too bad," Reina smirked.

"Assailant attack and I'll activate her effect to force your Hedge into attack mode!" the assassin's knife began to glow and Hedge Guard's vines seemed to come to life. But a second later a mass of vine shot out of the ground and forced Gravekeeper's Assailant to her knees.

"What the hell just happened?" Aaron demanded angrily.

"That would be the effect of the monster I just discarded, my Binding Rose since your monster declared an attack I simply had to discard her and your monster is forced to move into defense mode, cool eh?" Reina explained.

"I'll end my turn," Aaron grumbled.

"I activate the Continuous Spell Plant Pathway," behind Reina several large vines burst out of the ground and wrapped themselves around her Duel Disk

"Ok and what does that do, pray tell?" Aaron asked.

"This is a powerful card well when used by someone like me, anytime I activate the effect of a Plant type monster or Blackrose Dragon that requires me to remove cards from play I can send those cards back to my Deck instead, oh and this card cannot be negated, so your Necrovalley is useless against it, of course it has a cost but we'll get to that later," Reina explained.

"Now to follow up I'm going to switch my Hedge Guard back into defense mode then I'll call out Phoenixian Seed!" a large brown seed with red leaves sprouting out the top and a large eye in the center floated onto the field. (ATK 800/DEF 0)

"Now I send my Phoenixian Seed to the Graveyard to call out the mighty Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis!" Phoenixian Seed buried itself in the ground and from where it was planted a green stem began to grow. Two large yellow leaves shaped like wings sprouted from the stem along with several red flowers and a larger pink flower shaped like a birds head. (ATK 2200/DEF 0)

"Go Phoenixian Cluster destroy his Assailant with Flame Petal!" the Plant monster let out a very bird like screech and then a torrent of burning petals erupted from it and consumed the cloaked assassin.

"Now since damage calculation is over my Phoenixian Cluster destroys herself and hits you for 800 points of damage, Scatter Flame!" the bird like Plant let loose another cry and then erupted into flames before exploding sending those flames to strike Aaron who cried out in pain.

**(Reina: 8000) - (Aaron: 7200)**

"Ergh, that really hurt," Aaron growled.

"Looks like I've levelled the playing field, let's see who's stronger my powers or your Duel Disk shall we?" Reina smirked.

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn and so my turn comes to its End Phase and by removing a Plant monster from my Graveyard I can Special Summon my Phoenixian Cluster in defense mode, but thanks to Plant Pathway, my Phoenixian Seed goes back to my Deck, which is then shuffled," the card fell out of Reina's Graveyard and she slid it into her Deck and pressed the auto-shuffle button and the bird like Plant appeared her wings crossed over herself.

"Damn you, I'll make you pay for that," Aaron growled as he drew.

"Consider getting what I just did to you pay back for hurting my friends, I normally I'm not a violent person but if you harm my friends, then your in for a world of hurt!" shouted Reina.

"I summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" the spear wielding man jumped onto the field and smirked at Reina. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1500-2000)

"Actually my Pollinosis says otherwise, and in case you didn't know this card acts somewhat like Solemn Judgement, only I don't give up any Life Points I release a Plant type monster and I'm sorry but that's you Hedge Guard," the monster exploded unleashing a wave of pollen causing Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier to sneeze and shatter.

"Damn it," Aaron swore.

"Oh well you could still attack my Phoenixian Cluster," Reina smirked.

"I'll switch my Commandant to defense mode and then end my turn!" the former Pro League duelist snarled in response.

After Reina pulled the top card off her Deck a red glow surrounded her. "This would be the cost of my Plant Pathway I must pay 500 Life Points during my Standby Phase otherwise it's destroyed."

**(Reina: 7500) - (Aaron: 7200)**

"I'll move my Phoenixian Cluster back to attack mode and have her attack your Commandant!" the bird like Plant unleashed another wave of burning petals destroying the masked Gravekeeper.

"Now she destroys herself, but don't worry she'll be back," Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis exploded and unleashed other shower of flames upon Aaron who cried out again.

**(Reina: 7500) - (Aaron: 6400)**

"I'll set a card face down and this time I'll send my Binding Rose back to my Deck and that will be all," again from her ashes the bird like Plant rose again.

Aaron drew and smirked in a way Reina didn't like. "I activate Graceful Charity," the angel appeared and after pulling three cards off the top of his Deck he handed her two of them.

"Now I reveal my face down Rite of Spirit which lets me revive a Gravekeeper's monster in my Graveyard and I'll choose one I just sent there, my Gravekeeper's Curse," the man with the oddly shaped staff appeared and a yellow aura began to surround Reina. (ATK 800-1300/DEF 800-1300)

**(Reina: 6500) - (Aaron: 6400)**

"Now I release him to call forth Gravekeeper's Chief!" Gravekeeper's Curse bowed his head and the leader of the Gravekeeper's appeared. (ATK 1900-2400/DEF 1200-1700)

"Now I'll use his effect to revive my Gravekeeper's Curse!" the dreadlocked haired man appeared again and Reina gritted her teeth as the energy again surrounded her. (ATK 800-1300/DEF 800-1300)

**(Reina: 6000) - (Aaron: 6400)**

"Gravekeeper's Curse attack her Phoenixian Cluster!" the man aimed his staff and the same aura that had appeared around Reina appeared around her monster, she screeched and exploded.

"Gravekeeper's Chief attack her directly with your Spell of the Afterlife!" the leader raised his staff and a bolt of energy flew from it and struck Reina on the chest, causing her to gasp as she skidded back.

**(Reina: 3600) - (Aaron: 6400)**

"I activate my face down card Damage Condenser, I just discard one card from my hand to the Graveyard and then I can Special Summon a monster from my Deck with attack points equal or less than the damage I took," Reina slid a card from her hand into the Graveyard which began to glow.

"Oh ya the card I just discard was called Discard Clause and when it goes from the hand to the Graveyard by any means I get to draw one card," as she explained this a large machine appeared behind her.

"I'll call forth my Gigaplant!" a large mass of vines slowly crawled out of the machine. They began to form together into a large beast with a Venus flytrap for a head. (ATK 2400/DEF 1200)

"His effect may be useless but hey he always makes a good level six beatstick," Reina grinned as Gigaplant growled.

"I'll end my turn," Aaron said.

**(Reina: 3100) - (Aaron: 6400)**

"Heh, heh I have more than double your Life Points, looks like your Plant Pathway was a bad idea," he laughed.

"We'll have to see in the end won't we?" Reina asked as she selected a card from her hand.

"I summon Copy Plant," a mass of brown vines grew out of the ground forming into a vaguely humanoid shape. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Now I'll tune my level one, Copy Plant with my level six, Gigaplant…." She began.

"_Cluster wishes will ignite to create a fiery new force! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!" _Copy Plant became a single green ring that surrounded Gigaplant reducing it to framework.

From the burst of light appeared Black Rose Dragon spreading her petal covered wings and looking at Aaron with absolute rage in her eyes. (ATK 2400/DEF 1800)

"Now I'll have her attack your Gravekeeper's Curse, Black Rose Flare!" Black Rose Dragon opened her maw and fired a blast of pinkish coloured flames that swallowed the dreadlock haired man.

**(Reina: 3100) - (Aaron: 5300)**

"Now I'll activate Pot of Greed!" the green jar appeared and Reina pulled two cards off the top of her Deck.

"Now I'll end my turn by setting a card face down, and I choose to let Amaryllis stay where she is for the time being," she said.

"Hmmm a futile effort at best, in the end you can't defeat me and like every other duelist you shall fall at my feet and beg for mercy," Aaron sneered.

"God you must love the sound of your own voice, because you definitely don't know how to shut up," Reina said while rolling her eyes.

"Hmph I'll simply set a monster face down and end my turn," Aaron said.

"Hold on before you end your turn I chain my Solemn Wishes, so now every time I draw I'll also gain 500 Life Points," Reina said as a shower of rain fell over her, but at the same time the aura from Plant Pathway appeared around her.

"Now I'll activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the Pot of Greed appeared again and both duelists drew three cards.

**(Reina: 3600) - (Aaron: 5300)**

"Now I'll summon Cactus Fighter!" a humanoid Plant monster with a flat body and spikes on top of its head and arms jumped onto the field and began to shadow box. (ATK 1900/DEF 400)

"Now I activate the Continuous Spell card Domino Effect, but we'll get to that later, because I'm now going to equip my Black Rose Dragon with Fighting Spirit which increases her attack points by 300 for each monster you control and I see two!" a burning yellow aura enveloped Black Rose Dragon and she let loose an earthshaking roar. (ATK 2400-3000/DEF 1800)

"Black Rose Dragon destroy Gravekeeper's Chief with Black Rose Flare!" Black Rose Dragon fired another blast of flames vaporizing the lead tomb guardian. (ATK 3000-2700/DEF 1800)

**(Reina: 3600) - (Aaron: 4700)**

"Now Domino Effect activate and I send a monster on my side of the field to the Graveyard when one of your monsters is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, now your face down monster is also destroyed!" Cactus Fighter dissolved into motes of light and Aaron's face down monster exploded. (ATK 2700-2400/DEF 1800)

"Now I'll set my last card face down and end my turn," Reina grinned.

"Don't get cocky I'm still ahead in Life Points and in terms of hand," Aaron said drawing his next card.

"I activate Double Summon and then call out Gravekeeper's Cannonholder!" the bazooka wielding man jumped onto the field his weapon at the ready. (ATK 1400-1900/DEF 1200-1700)

"Now I call out Gravekeeper's Descendant!" the blond haired man walked out and glared at Reina. (ATK 1500-2000/DEF 1200-1700) (ATK 2400-3000/DEF 1800)

"I'll activate my Descendant's effect and release my Cannonholder to destroy Black Rose Dragon!" Gravekeeper's Cannonholder dissolved into grains of light and Gravekeeper's Descendant fired a blast of dark energy at the petal covered Dragon.

But instead of killing Black Rose Dragon it shattered the fiery aura. (ATK 3000-2400/DEF 1800) "Sorry but if Black Rose Dragon would be destroyed I can send Fighting Spirit to the Graveyard instead," Reina smirked.

"Damn it!" Aaron snarled "Fine I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"Now my turn begins and you're in deep now because I reveal my face down card Assault Mode Activate!" a burst of light shot out of the card and enveloped Black Rose Dragon.

"What!" Aaron and Josh shouted in disbelief. "That's impossible Black Rose Dragon doesn't have an Assault Mode counterpart!" Aaron protested.

"Shows what you know, say hello to Black Rose Dragon/Assault Mode!" the light faded and Black Rose Dragon had changed slightly. Covering her chest the ends of her wings and head was crimson plate armor, two extra vines had sprouted out of her back and they sported glowing red thorns. (ATK 2900/DEF 2300)

"Now I activate her effect and once per turn I remove one Plant type monster from my Graveyard and then one monster on your side of the field has its attack reduced to zero, if that monster was in defense mode it'd be switched into attack mode!" the armored Dragon's vines flew forward and constricted the blond haired man. (ATK 2000-0/DEF 1700)

"Wait but how?" Aaron demanded.

"Black Rose Dragon/Assault Mode is listed on the Plant Pathway, I just didn't want to spoil the surprise by mentioning her," Reina said holding up the card for Aaron to prove her she telling the truth.

"Black Rose Dragon attack his Gravekeeper's Descendant with Rose Scatter Flare!" Black Rose Dragon opened her mouth and fired a barrage of tiny fireballs at the bound monster.

"Reveal face down card Negate Attack, so your attack is negated and the Battle Phase is over!" the fireballs bounced off the swirling shield.

"Ok but you do realize that if you destroy this Black Rose Dragon her precursor will return," Reina grinned.

"I'll end my turn," she added as the vines released Gravekeeper's Descendant. (ATK 0-2000/DEF 1700)

Aaron looked over his hand and smirked. "I'll release my Gravekeeper's Descendant to unleash my ultimate Gravekeeper, come forth Gravekeeper's Visionary!" Gravekeeper's Descendant smirked and bowed his head as he was replaced with the jackal headed high priest. (ATK 2000-2500/DEF 1800-2300)

"Of course as you may already know he gains 200 attack points for every Gravekeeper's monster in my Graveyard, and I have six!" the high priest glared at Reina as a powerful energy surrounded him. (ATK 2500-3700/DEF 2300)

"Attack her Black Rose Dragon with Wrath of Ra!" the high priest raised his staff and blasted the armored Dragon with a beam of dark energy.

**(Reina: 2800) - (Aaron: 4700)**

"Since my Assault Mode Black Rose Dragon was destroyed I get to Special Summon the original from my Graveyard and she'll be coming in attack mode!" the original Black Rose Dragon appeared in a storm of dark purple rose petals.

"Hmmm that was a foolish move, because my Visionary is not as easy to destroy as he may seem, I shall set two cards face down and end my turn," Aaron said.

"I set a card face down and then switch Black Rose Dragon into defense mode," a card appeared behind the petal covered Dragon as she used her wings to shield herself.

"Visionary attack!" the priest fired another blast of energy striking Black Rose Dragon.

"Reveal face down card Waboku so I take no battle damage and Black Rose Dragon can't be destroyed by battle," Reina explained the attack bounced off a clear shield.

"Heh, heh, you're simply delaying the inevitable, why don't just give up and spare yourself the pain and humiliation of defeat?" Aaron asked.

"Because I'm very doubtful hell has frozen over yet, I never surrender no matter how bad things look!" Reina declared.

"Suit yourself," Aaron shrugged.

"No you're loss because I'm going to activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Necrovalley!" a cyclone tore across the canyon tearing down the rock walls. (ATK 3700-3200/DEF 2300-1800)

"Now I'm going to activate a powerful Spell card called Emergency Recharge and since I have not cards in my hand when I played it I get to draw four new cards," Reina quickly pulled four cards off the top of her Deck.

**(Reina: 3300) - (Aaron: 4700)**

"Time to get rid of your Visionary, and start that I'll activate Mark of the Rose, which will be equipped to your Visionary, after I remove Cactus Fighter from my Graveyard," the rose shaped seal appeared on the priest's chest and he appeared on Reina's side of the field. (ATK 3200-2000/DEF 1800)

"Of course I have no Gravekeeper's in my Graveyard so his attack is back to where it started, but that doesn't matter because I activate Mystic Wok, and it allows me to release on monster and gain either its attack or defense points as Life Points, I'll choose attack points," a large wok appeared below Gravekeeper's Visionary, he dropped inside and dissolved into grains of light that surrounded Reina.

**(Reina: 5300) - (Aaron: 4700)**

"Black Rose Dragon attack!" the petal covered Dragon unleashed a blast of flames from between her jaws.

"I activate my Spellbinding Circle so your Dragon is trapped unable to change modes or attack," Aaron smirked as the seal appeared around Black Rose Dragon.

"Damn," Reina swore under her breath. "Fine I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"I activate the Pyramid of Light!" the glowing pyramid quickly took shape and Reina started to sweat.

"Now I give up 1000 Life Points to call out Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia!" in bursts of light the male and female Sphinxes appeared both snarling at Reina. (ATK 3000/DEF 2500) (ATK 2500/DEF 3000)

**(Reina: 5300) - (Aaron: 3700)**

"Now since I just called them out this way they can't attack so I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Aaron smirked.

Reina drew and scowled. "I set a card face down and end my turn," she growled.

"What's wrong, Ms. Fudo out of moves, well too bad, you should've surrendered when I gave you the chance," Aaron said mockingly.

"Sphinx Teleia attack her Black Rose Dragon!" Teleia's face became more feral and she pounced on Black Rose Dragon. Reina turned away not wanting to see her monster destroyed.

**(Reina: 5200) - (Aaron: 3700)**

"Andro Sphinx attack her directly!" the male Sphinx roared sending shock waves that slammed into Reina. Or they would've had a wall of flower petals not blocked the attack.

"That would be my Petal Shield I just had to remove a Plant type monster from my Graveyard to reduce the damage from that battle to zero," Reina said pocketing Gigaplant.

"Fine I'll end my turn by setting a card face down, but next turn it's all over for you one way or another," Aaron said ominously.

Reina drew and grinned. "You're wrong in the end it isn't over just yet because I activate Monster Reborn to revive Black Rose Dragon!" in a burst of petals Black Rose Dragon appeared again.

"I activate Thorn of Malice and equip it to my Black Rose Dragon!" several small vines grew out of Black Rose Dragon's face and the thorns growing from the vines from her back became sharper. (ATK 2400-3000/DEF 1800) "This card has several effects one of which is that Black Rose Dragon now inflicts piercing damage and if she battles a monster after damage calculation that monster loses 600, attack and defense points and isn't destroyed!"

"Black Rose Dragon attack Sphinx Teleia with Rose Hate Whip!" Black Rose Dragon's vine flew forward slamming into the female Sphinx, knocking her back and inflicting several wounds. (ATK 2500-1900/DEF 3000-2400)

**(Reina: 5200) - (Aaron: 3200)**

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Reina said with a confident smirk.

"Heh, heh, you have yet to face my ultimate beast Reina, but be prepared for that time has come!" Aaron declared.

"I summon Gravekeeper's Guard," the bald man holding hid spear walked onto the field only for Aaron's face down card to activate. "Reveal face down card, Torrential Tribute which activates when either of us Summons a monster, now all monsters on the field are destroyed!" huge geysers of water sprayed out of the Trap card crushing every monster under the pressure.

"Now I pay 500 Life Points since both Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia were destroyed simultaneously, I may now unleash Theinen the Great Sphinx!" the pyramid of light began to flash intensely and the composite sphinx appeared growling at Reina. (ATK 3500/DEF 3000)

**(Reina: 5200) - (Aaron: 2700)**

"Now I shall activate Theinen's other ability and since it was Special Summoned I may pay another 500 Life Points to increase his attack points by 3000 until the End Phase!" Theinen roared and began to grow until he was nearly twice his original size. (ATK 3500-6500/DEF 3000)

**(Reina: 5200) - (Aaron: 2200)**

"That's impossible!" Reina and Josh shouted in unison.

"Oh it's very possible and now it's over Reina Fudo, goodbye! Theinen end this with Judgement Flames!" Theinen opened its mouth and began to gather flames. He roared sending a massive fireball straight at Reina.

She screamed as it slammed into her sending her flying backwards. When the smoke cleared she was lying on the ground with smoke pouring off her clothes, which were slightly scorched.

**(Reina: 1700) - (Aaron: 2200)**

"That's impossible!" Aaron cried.

Reina stood up, albeit she was someone shaky. "Oh no Zebel, it's very possible, note my Domino Effect, Plant Pathway, Solemn Wishes and face down card are gone, well it was Emergency Provisions so I was able to get rid of my three other cards and gained 3000 Life Points before your attack hit me," she explained.

"I'll end my turn, but unless the next card you drew is a miracle you are finished," Aaron smirked. (ATK 6500-3500/DEF 3000)

Reina drew. "I activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and looked a Reina with concern. Reina handed her two cards and the angel vanished.

"Ok Zebel this is over because I activate a card I just got recently, Miracle Synchro Fusion!" she shouted.

"What, you don't have anything you can use that with!" Aaron protested.

"You really need to learn to stop underestimating me, because I remove Black Rose Dragon and Witch of the Black Rose from my Graveyard to call out the ultimate monster in my ground Deck, Black Rose Sorceress!" a vortex opened behind Reina and the spirits of Black Rose Dragon and a woman in a black dress with long purple hair were pulled in.

The vortex began to glow and then emitted a huge flash of light. From the vortex stepped a woman, they wore a black cloak over a violet colour dress, the woman had long dark violet coloured hair and held a staff topped with a gem that was carved into the shape of a purple rose. (ATK 2900/DEF 2000)

"She's not that impressive," Aaron scoffed.

"She may not look impressive to you but her effect is powerful, first when she's Summoned I can select and add any Spell card from my Deck to my hand, and I choose Enemy Controller, and then I'll activate it and force your Theinen into defense mode!" a huge game controller appeared behind Reina, the jack attached itself to Theinen forcing him to kneel.

"Black Rose Sorceress attack Theinen with Ultimate Rose Spell!" Black Rose Sorceress spun her staff around causing purple flames to surround the gem.

"But even in defense mode Theinen is too powerful to be defeated by your Sorceress!" Aaron shouted.

"I know but I have two words for you, special effect, and her second one is deadly, when she attacks a monster that's in defense mode I can remove a Plant type monster from my Graveyard and force the attack target into attack mode and reduce its attack points to zero!" Reina explained and Black Rose Sorceress' eyes began to glow and Theinen stood up. (ATK 3500-0/DEF 3000)

"This duel is over, Black Rose Sorceress end this!" the Sorceress fired her spell reducing Theinen to ashes and sending Aaron flying back.

**(Reina: 1700) - (Aaron: 0)**

Reina and Josh heard the sound of sirens before they saw the bikes and a van pulled up. It was a two of Securities and a van with Sector Security marked on the side. The officers jumped off their bikes and ran over to where Reina was standing. "Is that him?" one of them asked Reina indicating the fallen Aaron.

"Yep, I just beat him in a duel and he has several stolen cards on him," Reina said as she walked over to the fallen criminal. She reached into his pocket and pulled out Melissa's and Alexandria's cards, she then grabbed Red Dragon Archfiend and a large stack of cards.

She handed the stack over to one of the officers. "Here these need to go back to their original owners," she walked over to Josh and handed him the Fortune Lady set and Red Dragon Archfiend. "Give these back to Alexandria."

"Thank you for your help Ms. Fudo," one of the officers said.

"No problem, but you guys sure took your sweet time, I called you guys during Josh's duel," Reina grumbled.

The two officers from the van loaded Aaron who was out cold into the back. "Sorry a small incident occurred while we were on the way here, so it took longer than we'd expected," the Security explained as he and the other officer got on their bikes and followed the van which had just left.

An hour later

The van was now alone as it drove to headquarters, the two officers on Runners had been called away to investigate a possible robbery that was nearby.

The van suddenly shook violently as something slammed into the side causing it to spin out. "What the hell was that?" one of the officers questioned.

Something tore one of the doors off and dragged the two Securities out of their seats before they could react. "Nighty, night officers," someone cackled as whatever had grabbed the two officers knocked them unconscious.

Aaron had been jarred back into consciousness by the crash and stood up. "Ugh what happened, and where am I?" he asked. Suddenly the door was torn off the back of van by a set of huge clawed hands.

"Aaron Zebel I'm here to speak with you," the person who'd spoken moments earlier said.

Aaron jumped out of the van and spied the person. It was a fairly young looking man with long messy dark grey hair and very pale skin. He wore a black trench coat with several rips and tears along it, he also wore a pair of battered and ripped black jeans. On his arm was a Duel Disk. It clearly wasn't standard issue, the tray looked like some demonic white wing, and the whole Disk was painted green and white and it almost looked like it was made of bony plates.

"Who in the hell are you," Aaron growled.

"I'm Xander Norico and I am now your judge jury and especially your _executioner_," the youth smirked.

"Who sent you?" Aaron asked clearly not afraid of the boy.

"The guy who hired you recently, and he is dissatisfied with your performance, plus I know your organization doesn't tolerate failure, so you're a dead man anyway, but I'm a fair guy if you can beat me you can walk away, otherwise well," Xander slid a thumb across his throat.

"Fine I can take you kid," Aaron smirked.

Several minutes later

"I activate my face down card!" Xander shouted as his hidden card flipped up. He had two monsters and had just activated his only face down card. He had full Life Points.

Aaron on the other had hardly had any left to spare and his field was clear except for his Pyramid of Light, his Theinen having been destroyed the previous turn.

The one monster on Xander's side was engulfed in light and moments later three shapes burst out of the ground. "Well Aaron this is where it all ends, any last words?" Xander snickered.

Aaron just growled. "Too bad, I was hoping for some witty remark, oh well ok you guys end this," he smirked as his monsters flew at Aaron.

Screams echoed through the night along with Xander's cackling.

**Melissa: Hooray I got my cards back!  
**

**Rob: Hopefully we can get a break after all of this.**

**Zeke: Why do you need a break, you didn't do anything?**

**Reina: Sad to say I won't be getting much of a break.**

**Xander: Heh, ya next time these losers are in for a shock because the boss is making a move in the next chapter.**

**Reina: How'd you get in here?**

**Xander: Don't miss Darkness Game, it's coming up next!**

**Original Cards**

Binding Rose

Earth | Level 3 | Plant/Tuner | 1000/700 | When your opponent declares an attack you may discard this card from your hand to the Graveyard to switch that monster into defense mode.

Plant Pathway

Image: A man of vines wrapping themselves around a duelist's Deck slot.

| Continuous Spell | Pay 500 Life Points during your Standby Phase. If you do not this card is destroyed. When you activate the effect of a Plant type monster or Black Rose Dragon or Black Rose Dragon/Assault Mode you may instead send any removed from play cards back to your Deck.

Discard Clause

Image: A contract begin signed by Brron, Mad King of Dark World and Demonic Roaring God Leviathan.

| Spell | When this card is discarded or sent from your hand to the Graveyard for any reason draw one card.

Black Rose Dragon/Assault Mode

Fire | Level 9 | Dragon/Effect | 2900/2300 | This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card Cannot be Special Summoned except with 'Assault Mode Activate'. Once per turn you may select one monster on your opponent's side of the field and reduce its attack points to zero until the End Phase and if it's in defense mode switch it into attack mode. When this card on the field is destroyed, you can Special Summon one 'Black Rose Dragon' from your Graveyard.

Emergency Recharge

Image: A duelist attaching a battery pack to their Duel Disk which has a low battery indicator on the jewel.

| Spell | Draw two cards. If you have no cards in your hand when you activate this card draw four cards.

Petal Shield

Image: A wall of flower petals created by Witch of the Black Rose protecting Speed Warrior from a large blade. (The blade appears to belong to Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity.)

| Trap | Activate only during damage calculation during your opponent's turn by removing one Plant type monster in your Graveyard. The damage you would receive becomes zero.

Black Rose Sorceress

Dark | Level 9 | Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect | 2900/2000 | Witch of the Black Rose + one 'Rose' Synchro monster. This card cannot be Special Summoned from your Extra Deck except by Fusion Summon. When this card is successfully Fusion Summoned you may add one Spell card from your Deck to your hand. When this card attacks a monster in defense mode you may remove one Plant monster from your Graveyard to switch the attack target into attack mode and reduce its attack points to zero.


	12. Ch12: Darkness Game

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twelve: Darkness Game

Several days had passed since the incident involving Aaron Zebel. He'd been found in critical condition and after being rushed to the emergency room he was revealed to Sector Security to be in a coma with no mental activity detected.

Currently Josh was riding towards his hangout. He pulled up in front of the building on the docks and locked his Runner and enabled the security system. "Reina's father defiantly makes quality work," he mumbled as he walked towards the entrance.

He went to open the door, but he suddenly jerked his hand back. _"Ok I'm getting a really bad feeling,"_ he thought as he slowly pushed the door open.

He walked inside and unusually the lights were off. They should've been on, because except for Alexandria who had an assignment to complete, the rest of his crew wasn't busy tonight.

"Mr. Atlas you have a fine clubhouse, and you subordinates are top notch duelists," a voice greeted, sending chills down Josh's spine.

A small flame appeared several feet in front of Josh. He took a step back. The flame was jet black but emitting light like a normal ball of fire. The person who'd created the flame was dressed in a grey cloak that completely obscured their features.

"Who in the hell are you and where is my crew?" Josh demanded angrily.

"You have a quick temper, well like father like son I guess," the cloaked person muttered. Josh guessed it was a man judging by their voice.

"Answer my question before I jam by boot down your throat!" Josh snarled.

"You should learn to control your temper," the cloaked man reprimanded.

"I asked you a damn question now answer it!" Josh roared.

"What if I say no, or what if I tell you your 'crew' are all dead, I challenged them to a Darkness Game, they all took me on at the same time, and I crushed them and the punishment for losing a Darkness Game…..is obviously death," the cloaked man chuckled.

"You BASTARD I'm going to crack your skull open!" Josh exploded charging the cloaked man who just laughed.

-****-

About an hour later the Fudo residence

Reina was sitting on the couch in the living room with her legs on the table and a comic book in her hand. It has Elemental Hero Sparkman and Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude on the front.

"This is even better than the last issue," she said to herself as she turned the page.

A sudden urgent knocking caught her attention. "Who could that be?" she asked looking at the clock on the wall. "It's almost ten at night."

She walked to the door and locked through the peephole and gasped. Standing outside and looking beaten up was none other than Josh.

She opened the door. "What happened to you?" she asked with worry in her voice, despite the fact she and the boy in front of her didn't get along.

He had bruises on his face and a few cuts and scrapes he also had the beginning of a black eye. "I need to come in for a moment," he said.

Reina stepped aside and let her former best friend into the house. He walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch. "Josh what happened, you look like you got your ass handed to you?" Reina asked.

"Didn't know you cared about me," Josh snickered before Reina smacked him in the back of the head.

"I may not like you, but I can't ignore someone who is clearly beaten up, even if it's you," Reina said.

Josh sighed. He wouldn't have admitted it but he felt more or less the same way. "It's an odd story," he muttered.

"Odder than the fact our parents took on seven evil Gods that were attempting to break a millennium old seal so they could come here and presumably devour or destroy all of humanity," Reina countered.

"Fair point, ok well the gist of what happened was I went to my hang out to well see how my crew was doing, but when I got there, no one was around," he said pausing. "At least I'd thought no one was around, but this dude in grey cloak seemed to appear from the darkness, he said he'd defeated my crew in a Darkness Game and killed them, I kind of freaked out and charged the guy, apparently he is one hell of a fighter, because he beat me senseless before I knew what happened."

"Wow that would sound really crazy if I was anyone else, but why are you here, why didn't you go home or to Security I'm pretty sure Trudge would believe you if you told him that," Reina said.

"That's just it, I would've gone to Trudge or Mina if the cloaked guy hadn't told me there was a way to get my crew back," Josh explained.

Reina arched an eyebrow. "I'm going to guess that this way involves me somehow?" she asked.

Josh nodded. "Yes he told me that if I wanted my crew back safe I'd have to go the school, and bring you and your friends."

"Ok did he make any other stipulations?" Reina asked.

"No just that you your friends and I go to the school," Josh sighed.

"Well then I'd better call them," Reina said picking up the phone.

-****-

Duel Academy later

In the principal's office the cloaked man was kneeling on the floor with a piece of chalk in their hand. They were drawing runes on the floor in a circular pattern around the desk.

"I have to wonder if any of the other Duel Academy's other than this and the Pacific branch of legendary cards seal beneath them," they muttered.

"Master those children are here," a female voice said.

"Perfect, and the gate is unlock and the others are in position?" the cloaked person asked not stopping in drawing the runes.

"Yes and the devices are set up in the locations, just one question master," the female voice said. "How are we going to get them separated?"

"Leave that to me, you see my dear I have gathered enough energy from the servants of the Crimson Dragon, not to break the seal just set but to cause it to crack and fracture," the cloaked person answered.

-****-

Outside Duel Academy same time

Reina, Josh, Zeke, Rob, Melissa and Kazuki were standing at the school gate, which was hanging open.

"Looks like we're on time," Rob grinned.

"Kazuki I'm kind of surprise that you believed the story Reina told you, most people would think she'd gone crazy," Zeke said.

"No need to worry my friend, I have my reasons," the blue haired boy chuckled slapping Zeke on the back.

"Ok we need to be careful, who ever we're dealing with must be pretty strong to be able to start a Darkness Game," Reina cautioned as the group began to walk through the gates.

Above lightning flashed and then suddenly the group heard what sounded like roaring. "What was that?" Melissa asked fearfully.

"It was thunder you chicken," Josh told her.

They heard the sound again, this time no lightning had flashed. "I'm starting to wonder if this isn't a trap," Zeke muttered.

As they neared the entrance of the school the wind started to pick up. Moments later it was all they could do to stay standing. The wind was fierce and a loud roar could be heard.

The ground seemed to shake and then the shadows twisted and lifted off the ground and started to form into shapes.

The biggest shapes made the group step back. They briefly looked like the Egyptian Gods, before they began to warp into more horrifying forms. The three creatures roared and everything went dark for the teenagers.

-****-

Reina's eyes fluttered open and she sat up. She looked around and found she was sitting in a dark hallway. "Ok how did I end up here?" she asked herself.

She stood up. "The last thing I remember was those creepy looking shadows attacking us, then nothing," she muttered as she started to walk down the hallway.

She shivered. 'This place is creepy when nobody is around."

"Oh but I'm around," a voice said causing Reina to jump.

"Who's there, show yourself!" Reina snapped.

Someone stepped out of the shadows. It was a boy about her age he wore a light brown duster coat, and loose light grey pants, on his head was a fedora. His eyes and hair caused Reina to give him a strange look, his eyes were orange and their hair was shock white.

"Hello," he said taking off his hat and bowing. "How are you tonight?"

"You look vaguely familiar have we met before?" Reina asked.

"Yes we have, but only once and we never really got a chance to talk," the teen grinned. "My name is Vincent Merchet."

Reina gasped. "You're lying or it's a freakish coincidence!" she shouted. "Vincent Merchet is the name of a famous former Pro League duelist and later Archaeologist."

The boy reached in the pocket of his coat and pulled out a sucker. "Want one?" he asked offering her a second one.

"No thanks," Reina replied. "Who are you?"

The boy slid the second sucker into his pocket and pulled the wrapper off of it and popped it into his mouth. "Ok I'll tell you who I am," he shrugged. "As I said I am Vincent Merchet, but to be fair those who know me better usually call me Junior."

"Wait your Vincent Merchet Jr.?" Reina asked.

"Yep, and like my old man once was I'm a duelist, and a pretty good one," Vincent grinned.

"What are you doing here?" Reina demanded.

"Maybe nothing, maybe something we all have our purpose I'm serving mine," Vincent said.

"Stop skirting around the question and just tell me why you're here?" Reina ask starting to sound annoyed.

"Just relax, I guess I may as well tell you," Vincent shrugged. "I'm here to defeat you in a Darkness Game!"

Reina gasped as purple fog started to surround the two. It formed a dome like shape and Vincent smirked and activated the Duel Disk on his arm that Reina hadn't really noticed.

"So shall be begin, if you want to take some time to calm down and get your thoughts straight, I don't mind I have plenty of time," he muttered.

Reina shook herself out of the shock she was feeling at actually being involved in a Darkness Game. "I'll be fine," she said.

"Duel!" the two shouted.

**(Reina: 8000) ---- (Vincent: 8000)**

"I'm a gentleman so you can go first if you want to," Vincent offered.

"That sounds fine by me!" Reina shouted pulling the sixth card off her Deck.

"I'll start off by setting a monster face down and then I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," she said as three brown backed cards appeared before her.

Vincent drew his sixth card and grinned. "Cool I drew one of my key cards," he said. "I activate the magic of Frontline Base, for my Deck this card is invaluable, and it allows me to once per turn Special Summon a level four or lower Union monster from my hand."

The Spell card glowed and something jumped out of it. It was a man in cherry red armor holding a broad sword. (ATK 1400/DEF 1100) "This is Flame Rider and thanks to his presence on the field a card in my hand can be Summoned with no releases."

A burst of flames ignited next to Flame Rider and when they settled a large Dragon with armor that was the same colour as Flame Rider's had appeared. (ATK 2100/DEF 1800) "This is Flame Dragon and thanks to my Flame Rider being on the field I was able to call him out."

Vincent rubbed his chin. "Now should I activate my Rider's effect and bond him with my Dragon or have him attack and possibly get a shot at your Life Points with my Dragon," he mused.

He shrugged. "I'll go with option number two!" Flame Rider charged forward and cleaved the face down monster in half, which was revealed to be a woman in a purple cloak with leaves attached to her shoulders.

"You just destroyed my Violet Witch, her effect will allow me to add a Plant type monster from my Deck to my hand so long as it has 1500 or less defense points," a card was spat out of Reina's Deck.

"Ok, well anyway Flame Dragon attack!" the armor covered Dragon opened its maw and fired a stream of flames.

"Hold up!" Reina shouted. "Reveal face down card, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, this'll negate your attack then it'll be set face down," the junk scarecrow appeared and deflected the flames.

"Ok, I'll move to my Main Phase two then equip my Rider to my Dragon," Flame Dragon lowered its head and then the Rider jumped into the air and landed on its neck just above its shoulders. (ATK 2100-2400/DEF 1800-2100)

"Besides the attack point boost my Dragon gains a powerful effect, when it attacks you may not activate any Spell or Traps," Vincent explained.

"Now I'll set a card face down end turn end," he said.

"_Ok I'm guessing he has plenty of those Dragons, which I'd bet are all high level, but he must have a way of quickly Summoning them, and this type of strategy eats up his hand, so he doesn't have much to work with, I have to exploit these weaknesses,"_ Reina thought.

"Ok I activate Cost Down, so I simply toss a card from my hand then I can reduce the level's of all monsters in my hand by two," Reina slid a card into the Graveyard then grabbed one of the cards in her hand.

"I summon Rose Tentacles, who is now a four star!" from the ground sprouted the colossal Plant with eight vines protruding from it. (ATK 2200/DEF 1200)

"Now I activate my face down card, Plant Food Chain," Reina's face down card flipped up and Rose Tentacles began to glow green. "When activated it equips to a Plant type and gives it 500 extra attack points, it has another effect but right down it doesn't matter." (ATK 2200-2700/DEF 1200)

"Go destroy his monster with Thorn Whip!" one of Rose Tentacles arms shot forward and was about to impale the Dragon when the Rider on the back jumped off and took the hit.

**(Reina: 8000) ---- (Vincent: 7700)**

"What just happened?" Reina wondered aloud.

"Oh that would be the effect of my Rider, you see the Riders care deeply about the Dragon's they're partnered with, so if the Dragon would die, by any means the Rider will die instead, but fear Reina for my Dragon will be wrathful," Vincent explained. (ATK 2400-2100/DEF 2100-1800)

"Ok I'm going to end my turn," Rein said.

Vincent drew and looked at the card for a second. "I activate Dragon Draw, since the only type of monster on my side of the field is Dragon, I can draw two cards," Flame Dragon began to glow and Vincent snapped two cards off the top of his Deck.

"Now I activate the Continuous Spell Dragon's Treasury, this for my Deck is a must, because each and every time a Dragon type monster I control destroys a monster on your side of the field I draw one card for every monster destroyed at the end of the Battle Phase," Vincent explained.

"Ok but my Rose Tentacle's is pretty strong you'd need a powerful monster to destroy her," Reina said.

"I know that, so for now I'll move my Dragon into defense mode and then set a monster and a card face down and end my turn," Vincent said.

"I'll summon Rose Knight Lancer!" from the ground a vine grew. It split open revealing a knight in green armor holding not surprisingly a large lance. (ATK 1800/DEF 1400)

"Her second effect activates, on top of being treated as a Plant type monster while on the field or in my Graveyard, she allows all Plant type monsters herself included to inflict piercing damage," Reina explained.

"Rose Knight go, attack his face down monster," the knight charged forward her lance at the ready.

"I activate Negate Attack!" a swirling vortex appeared stopping Rose Knight Lancer's attack. "This not only negates your attack but it also end your Battle Phase," Vincent grinned.

Reina sighed. "I must admit so far you're proving to be a good opponent, but I won't lose this duel!"

"Ok are you going to end your turn?" Vincent asked.

Reina looked over her hand. "I'll set a card face down then yes," she replied

Vincent nodded and grinned. "I activate Dragon's Soul, this allows me to send a Dragon type monster on my side of the field to the Graveyard to Special Summon a Dragon monster from my hand, so I give up my Flame Dragon to call out Darkness Dragon!" Flame Dragon dissolved into motes of light.

Those motes exploded and a dark fog appeared on the field. It slowly took the shape of a wicked looking Dragon with jet black scales and eerie red eyes. (ATK 2600/DEF 2000)

"Now since it's the only card in my hand I'll activate Emergency Recharge to draw four new cards since it's the only card in my hand!" the Spell card glowed and Vincent pulled four cards off the top of his Deck.

"Oh ya I forgot to mention since my Darkness Dragon was summoned I'm allowed to call out Darkness Rider from my hand, but since I don't have him there I draw one card," he explained pulling another card off his Deck.

"Now I flip my face down card face up, so I'd like you to meet Darkness Rider!" the once face down monster was revealed to be a Warrior in jet black armor carrying a pair of short swords. (ATK 1500/DEF 1200)

"Now Darkness Rider union with Darkness Dragon!" the dark armored Warrior jumped into the air and landed on the dark Dragon's neck.

"Ok that may be cool and all, but your Rider didn't power up your Dragon by one point," Reina noted.

"I know, don't worry I have a plan, I activate Block Attack, and true to its name it forces your octo-Plant to switch to defense mode," Rose Tentacles shielded itself with its arms.

"Darkness Dragon attack with Shadow Stream!" the Dragon opened its mouth and belched forth a wave of darkness that covered the Plant monster.

**(Reina: 6600) ---- (Vincent: 7700)**

"What the….?" Reina gasped suddenly feeling as if she'd been punched in the chest.

"That would be the power my Dragon gains when its Rider fights by its side, the power to strike your Life Points through defense," Vincent grinned pulling a card off the top of his Deck.

"Well since you trashed my Plant Food Chain I get a Plant from the Graveyard," Reina explained.

"Ok but I know for a fact your Rose Tentacles cannot be Special Summoned so….." Vincent said.

"Right I sent a Plant to my Graveyard with Cost Down, meet Rose Mage Bel," from the ground grew another vine. From this one emerged a young woman, who vaguely looked like a younger version of Black Rose Sorceress. (ATK 1200/DEF 900)

"I'll set a card face down and then, turn end," Vincent said with a shrug.

"It's my turn!" Reina shouted. "Time to tell you, Bel is a tuner monster so you know what that means right?"

"You're going to Synchro Summon," Vincent said.

"Yep, so I tune my level two, Rose Mage Bel, with my level four Rose Knight Lancer…."

"_Clustering radiance combines to create a new light! Become the path light is born upon! Appear now, Splendid Rose!"_

Bel held up her staff and became two green rings. They surrounded Rose Knight Lancer who was reduced to orange framework.

From the burst of light appeared a woman with blonde hair in a half green half black body suit, with four vines protruding from her back. (ATK 2200/DEF 2000)

"Now Bel's effect activates and I'm allowed to add a level four or lower Plant type monster from my Deck to my hand," Reina said as another card shot out of her Deck.

"Now I'll activate her effect, and remove a Plant type monster from my Graveyard to halve the attack points of one of your monsters until the End Phase," Reina explained as Rose Knight Lancer fell out of her Graveyard. "Since you only have one it shouldn't be hard to know what I'll choose!" a card slid out of Reina's Graveyard and Splendid Rose's vines grabbed hold of the dark Dragon. (ATK 2600-1300/DEF 2000)

"Attack his Darkness Dragon with Rose Whirlwind!" Splendid Rose began to spin around at high speed summoning up a torrent of rose petals. Those petals flew at the bound Dragon cutting its Rider to pieces.

**(Reina: 6600) ---- (Vincent: 6800)**

"We're almost even, you're a good duelist I'll admit that," Vincent grinned.

"Don't think I'm done yet your Dragon is going to die this turn!" Reina declared.

"I activate Splendid Rose's other effect, by removing a Plant type monster from my Graveyard, she can go in for another attack, so long as her attack points are halved until the End Phase!" Splendid Rose began to glow a faint green colour. (ATK 2200-1100/DEF 2000)

"Ok what was the point of that, your monster is weaker than mine now," Vincent said.

"Oh I'm very well aware of that, but you seem to forget I have two face down cards, one is my Scarp-Iron Scarecrow, the other is the Trap card Skill Successor, which until the End Phase increases Splendid Rose's attack points by 400!" a fiery orange aura began to surround Splendid Rose. (ATK 1100-1500/DEF 2000)

"Destroy his Dragon!" Splendid Rose began to spin around again, this time slicing the Dragon to pieces.

**(Reina: 6600) ---- (Vincent: 6600)**

"Wow, we're dead even that's kind of cool," Vincent grinned.

"I guess," Reina shrugged. "I'll move to my Main Phase two and activate my own Emergency Recharge!" Reina quickly drew four new cards.

"After that I'll simply end my turn," she said. (ATK 1500-2200/DEF 2000)

"You drew four new cards and you didn't get a thing you could use?" Vincent asked.

"Maybe," Reina grinned mischievously.

"_I don't believe for one second that she couldn't use anything she drew,"_ Vincent thought. "I activate the power of Frontline Base and call out Adamantine Rider in defense mode!" a man in opaque armor holding a spear and shield appeared crouch in defense. (ATK 1300/DEF 1200)

"Now I'll set a card face down and that'll do," Vincent said.

Reina cocked an eyebrow and looked at Vincent's two face down cards. _"He choose not to activate that one when I attacked last turn, both times, I wonder if he can't use it yet?"_ she wondered.

"I summon Rose Knight Swordsman!" another vine burst out of the ground and with it a man in dark green armor wielding a long sword. (ATK 1700/DEF 1100)

"Rose Knight attack his Adamantine Rider!" the armored man charged forward his sword held high.

"I activate two cards, one is Waboku, which prevents my monster from being destroyed and me from taking battle damage, and then I activate Dragon's Union, this card allows me to Special Summon a Dragon type monster from my Deck, so long as it has the same attribute as a Warrior type monster on my side of the field," a clear barrier appeared to block the swordsman's attack and then a large Dragon donned in the same armor as the Rider appeared on the field. (ATK 2300/DEF 1000)

"His effect activates and since I lack an Adamantine Rider in my hand I draw one card," Vincent said pulling another card off the top of his Deck.

"This is just not my Rose Knights day is it?" Reina sighed. "Fine I'll set a card face down and that'll be all."

"I must admit you're a lot stronger than I expected, what they say about you isn't a lie is it?" Vincent asked.

"What? Who says what about me?" Reina asked a large question mark appearing over her head.

"That you're a force to be reckoned with on the duelling field, you've managed to over power one of my strongest monsters, so do you mind if I ask you something?" he explained.

"Sure, what is it?" Reina asked.

"Are you free Friday?" he asked causing Reina to fall forward.

She stood up. "Did you just ask me out, in the middle of a duel, a Darkness Game for that matter?"

"Yea, so are you free or not, you can say no if you want," Vincent replied with a shrug.

"Well, I have a boyfriend so I'm going to say no I'm not free," Reina answered feeling slightly freaked out.

"Ok well then we should continue with this duel," Vincent said.

"_This guy is so weird,"_ Reina thought. "I'll end my turn."

Vincent nodded and drew. "I activate the Continuous Spell card Union of Soul!" he shouted. "This card has a powerful effect, you see from now on whenever one of my Rider's equips to my Dragons the Dragon will gain attack points equal to the level of the Rider times one-hundred, so Adamantine Rider do your thing," the armored man leapt into the air and landed on the Dragon's back. (ATK 2300-2600/DEF 1000)

"Adamantine Dragon attack her Splendid Rose with Adamantine Storm!" the Dragon spread its wings and unleashed a barrage of razor sharp crystals.

"Did you forget I have Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" the junk scarecrow appeared and blocked the crystals saving Splendid Rose.

"You know what I did forget about that card, thanks for the reminder," Vincent said. "I'll move set a card face down and end my turn."

"I'll activate Splendid Rose's effect!" Reina shouted but to her horror a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and vaporized Splendid Rose.

"That would be the work of my Divine Wrath, I just had to discard a card from my hand, which was Discard Clause so I'll also get to draw another card and then your Splendid Rose is destroyed," Vincent explained before drawing.

"You do realize with your current set up you can only have one card face down at a time?" Rein asked.

"I know but such is the price I pay to use this deadly strategy," Vincent replied with a shrug.

"I'll move my Swordsman to defense mode and call it a turn," Reina said.

"I summon Ruby Rider with the power of Frontline Base!" from the Spell card appeared a Warrior wielding a large halberd made of the same red gem as his armor. (ATK 1500/DEF 1700)

"Now for my Normal Summon I'll call out Wind Rider!" a Warrior in light green armor holding a large broad sword jumped onto the field. (ATK 1100/DEF 800)

"Ruby Rider attack her Rose Knight Swordsman!" the Warrior charged forward prepared to strike down his opponent. The halberd cleaved the knight in two before Reina's monster shattered.

"Ok Adamantine Dragon attack with Adamantine Storm!" the Dragon spread its wings again and unleashed another barrage of crystals.

"I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Reina shouted as the scarecrow yet again blocked the Dragon's attack.

"Wind Rider attack her directly with Gale Blade!" the Warrior jumped and pulled his weapon off his back. Reina jumped back but the blade nicked her causing her to hiss in pain.

**(Reina: 5500) ---- (Vincent: 6600)**

"Seems like I've taken the lead, so I'll end my turn with a face down card," Vincent said.

"I'm not out yet," Reina grinned as she drew.

**Zeke: Man Vincent is a powerful opponent.**

**Rob: Ya but Reina will pull through, I hope.**

**Melissa: Have faith Rob, she'll win she's beaten tougher guys.**

**Vincent: I'm stronger than I may seem.**

**Zeke: How'd you get in here?**

**Reina: Well after this incident is over he'll be joining the main cast.**

**Josh: Don't miss Ultimate Union.**

**Vincent: My duel with Reina concludes next chapter.**

**Original Cards**

Flame Rider

Fire | Level 4 | Warrior/Union | 1400/1100 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a Flame Dragon you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. The equipped monster gains 300 attack and defense points and when it attacks your opponent may not activate any Spell or Trap cards. If the equipped monster would be destroyed you may destroy this card instead.

Flame Dragon

Fire | Level 5 | Dragon/Effect | 2100/1800 | If you control a face up Flame Rider you can summon this card with no release.

Dragon Treasury

Image: Felgrand Dragon guarding a cave full of gold.

| Continuous Spell | Each time a Dragon type monster you control destroys a monster your opponent controls and sends it to the Graveyard, draw one card for every monster destroyed at the end of the Battle Phase.

Rose Knight Lancer

Earth | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1800/1400 | This card is also treated as a Plant type monster, while it is face up on the field or in the Graveyard. As long as this card remains face up on the field, When a Plant type monster or 'Black Rose Dragon' attacks an opponent's monster in defense mode inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the difference between the attacking monster's attack points and the defending monster's defense points.

Dragon's Soul

Image: Luster Dragon surrounded by a white aura that looks like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

| Spell | Send a Dragon type monster on your side of the field to the Graveyard then Special Summon a Dragon type monster from your hand.

Darkness Dragon

Dark | Level 7 | Dragon/Effect | 2600/2000 | When this card is Summoned you may Special Summon one Darkness Rider from your hand. If you don't have a 'Darkness Rider' in your hand when you summon this card, you may draw one card.

Darkness Rider

Dark | Level 4 | Warrior/Union | 1500/1200 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a Darkness Dragon you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. When the equipped attacks an opponent's monster in defense mode inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the difference between the attacking

monster's attack points and the defending monster's defense points. If the equipped monster would be destroyed you may destroy this card instead.

Rose Mage Bel

Earth | Level 2 | Spellcaster/Tuner | 1200/900 | This card is also treated as a Plant type monster, while it's face up on the field or in the Graveyard. If this card is used as Synchro Material for the Synchro Summon of a Plant type monster or 'Black Rose Dragon' you may add one level four or lower Plant type monster from your Deck to your hand.

Adamantine Rider

Earth | Level 3 | Warrior/Union | 1300/1200 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a Adamantine Dragon you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. The equipped monster cannot be destroyed by effects that target and any time it destroys a monster sends it to the Graveyard inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's level x 100. If the equipped monster would be destroyed you may destroy this card instead.

Rose Knight Swordsman

Earth | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1700/1100 | This card is also treated as a Plant type monster, while it's face up on the field or in the Graveyard. When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard you may Special Summon a level four or lower Plant type monster from your Graveyard.

Dragon's Union

Image: Pitch-Dark Dragon with Dark Blade on its back flying towards Despair from the Dark.

| Trap | Special Summon a Dragon type monster from your Deck with the same Attribute as a Warrior type monster on your side of the field.

Adamantine Dragon

Earth | Level 5 | Dragon/Effect | 2300/1000 | When this card is Summoned, you may Special Summon one 'Adamantine Rider' from your hand. If you don't have an 'Adamantine Rider' in your hand when you Summon this card, you may draw one card.

Union of Soul

Image: Dark Blade battling Freezing Beast merged with Burning Beast while riding Pitch-Dark Dragon.

| Continuous Spell | As long as this card remains face up on the field any time a Union monster is equipped to a monster the equipped monster gains attack points equal to the level of the Union monster x 100.

Ruby Rider

Earth | Level 4 | Warrior/Union | 1500/1700 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a Ruby Dragon you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. The equipped monster gains 400 attack and defense points and if it destroys a monster as a result of battle and sends it to the Graveyard it may attack again. If the equipped monster would be destroyed you may destroy this card instead.

Wind Rider

Wind | Level 3 | Warrior/Union | 1100/800 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a Wind Dragon you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. If the equipped monster attacks your opponent directly and inflicts damage you may destroy one Spell or Trap card. If the equipped monster would be destroyed you may destroy this card instead.


	13. Ch13: Ultimate Union

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirteen: Ultimate Union

While Reina was dueling Vincent in the Darkness Game Josh had just woken up. "Ugh, did anyone get the license plate of that truck that ran me over?" he groaned as he stood up.

He looked around and found he too was in a dark hallway. "What the hell?" he asked no one in particular. "I'm inside the school, ok it is official some crazy crap is at work here."

He started walking down the hall only the sound of his footsteps reaching his ears. He got a funny feeling as he continued.

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Then he saw it, a large dome like shape of dark purple energy. He touched it and felt his hand go in.

He stepped forward walking into the cloud. But instead of finding himself inside the cloud he found himself on the other side.

"Ok what in the hell is this?" Josh demanded angrily.

Inside the dome same time

While Josh was trying to figure out what was going on Reina was still duelling Vincent. He seemed to be in the lead in terms of the field and Life Points. He had Wind and Ruby Rider as monsters and Adamantine Rider equipped to his Adamantine Dragon as a Spell card. He also had a faced down card and Frontline Base, Dragon Treasury and Union of Soul active. He held two cards.

Reina only had her face down Scrap-Iron Scarecrow on the field and four cards to work with, it was her turn and she hadn't draw yet.

She pulled the top card off her Deck and suddenly Vincent's face down card flipped up. "Reveal face down card!" he shouted. "Dust Tornado, so now I can trash your face down Scrap-Iron Scarecrow," a vortex of dust and debris flew across the field and shattered Reina's face down card.

"Now I could set a card in my hand face down, but I'll choose not to," he said.

"Ok, I'll set a card face down I'll activate Double Cyclone, now I can destroy one of my Spell or Trap cards and one of your Spell or Trap cards," two blasts of wind flew from the card. "So I'll destroy my face down card and your Adamantine Rider!" the first whirlwind tore Reina's face down card to pieces then the other struck Vincent's monster causing it to shatter. (ATK 2600-2300/DEF 1000)

"My face down card was called another Plant Spirit, and if it's destroyed while face down it allows me to revive a Plant type monster from my Graveyard, so I'll bring back Rose Knight Swordsman," the green armored sword wielding Warrior jumped out of a glowing green portal. (ATK 1700/DEF 1100)

"I'm not done yet, not by a long shot, I call out Twilight Rose Knight!" a young girl in black armor with light blue hair jumped onto the field. (ATK 1000/DEF 1000)

"Now her effect activates and I can call out Rose Mage Serune from my hand," Twilight Rose Knight gestured and another sorceress appeared. She was dressed similarly to Bel, only she also had a dagger in her hand. (ATK 1500/DEF 1600)

"Now I'll tune my level three, Twilight Rose Knight with my level four, Rose Mage Serune…," she began.

"_Clustering wishes will ignite to create a fiery new force! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"_

Twilight Rose Knight jumped into the air and became three green rings. They surrounded the sorceress causing her to become orange framework. Black Rose Dragon appeared and threw back her head and roared. (ATK 2400/DEF 1800)

The petal covered Dragon looked around and let out a low growl. She looked over at Vincent's monsters and then snarled, as if angry.

Reina blinked a few times. "Do you know these monsters?" she asked her Dragon, feeling slightly strange.

Black Rose Dragon nodded. "Hmmm I wonder if my grandmother knew someone who had Black Rose Dragon sometime in the past," Vincent mused.

"Ok first I'll activate my Pot of Greed," the grinning jar appeared and Reina quickly pulled two cards off the top of her Deck.

"Black Rose Dragon attack his Adamantine Dragon with Black Rose Flare!" the petal covered Dragon fired her deadly breath attack incinerating the slightly weaker Dragon.

**(Reina: 5500) - (Vincent: 6500)**

"Rose Knight Swordsman attack his Wind Rider!" the Swordsman jumped into the air and drove his blade into the other Warrior's shoulder, shattering him into millions of pixels.

**(Reina: 5500) - (Vincent: 5900)**

"I'll choose not to activate his effect and I'll end my turn by setting a card face down," Reina said.

Vincent drew and grinned. "I activate the Spell card Dragonic Soul Exchange!" the picture showed a tombstone with a Dragon Ice's picture on it, the shadow of Armed Dragon LV5 could be seen by it. "This card allows me to select a Dragon type monster in my Graveyard and then I select a Dragon monster in my Deck or hand with the same level as the selected monster, and Special Summon it, but the Special Summoned monster can't attack this turn so I'll select Adamantine Dragon and call out Ruby Dragon!" in a burst of light another Dragon appeared. It was smaller than the others, except maybe Flame Dragon, it wore plate armor made of gemstone in its name. (ATK 2200/DEF 1200)

"Now of course since I lack a Ruby Rider in my hand I draw a card, and thanks to my Dragonic Soul Exchange, Ruby Dragon can't attack this turn, so Ruby Rider do your thing!" the Warrior jumped onto the Dragon's back. (ATK 2200-3000/DEF 1200)

"I'll set a card face down then, turn end," he said.

Reina drew and scowled. "I'll move my monsters to defense mode and end my turn," she sighed.

Vincent drew and grinned. "Reveal face down card!" he exclaimed. Reina recognised the Trap card and gasped. "Meteorain, this will allow my monster to hit your Life Points despite the fact your monsters are in defense mode, also thanks to Ruby Rider if it destroys a monster it can attack again, and the coup de grace, I activate the powerful Spell card Berserker Assault!"

Reina blinked in confusion. "I'm not surprised you've never heard of this card, it's very, very rare, in the same class as the Dark Magician, it allows one of my monsters to attack every monster on your side of the field, and if I had other monsters they wouldn't be allowed to attack this turn, but that's a moot point," he grinned.

"But that means," Reina gasped.

"You'll take….if my math is right 6100 points of damage, you lose Reina, Ruby Dragon end this!" the Dragon opened its maw and unleashed a wave of red flames that engulfed Reina's side of the field.

Outside the dome

Josh blinked a few times and opened the extra Deck compartment on his Duel Disk. He pulled out Red Dragon Archfiend and just starred at the card. "Are you trying to tell me something?" he asked.

The card obviously gave no response. "I guess I shouldn't expect and answer," he muttered as he looked at the dome.

Inside the dome

The smoke started to clear and Vincent was about to deactivate his Duel Disk. _"Looks like I won,"_ he thought.

"Hey, we're not done yet," a voice told him.

He blinked and noticed Reina was standing there with a grin on her face and a white aura around her. "But how?" he questioned.

"My Hallowed Life Barrier Trap card," she said. "It protected me from damage this turn and all it cost me was one card."

Vincent grinned. "Good I was hoping it hadn't been _that_ easy," Vincent grinned. _"She's tougher than I expected."_

"So are you going to draw?" Reina asked.

"Huh?" Vincent said. "Oh right my Dragon Treasury," he said pulling two cards off the top of his Deck. _"Got to be careful, I've been doing a lot of drawing."_

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn, but honestly is there anything you can really do to defeat me, my monster is as strong as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon," he smirked.

"And let me guess you've almost or just plain never been defeated?" Reina questioned.

"I've been beaten a few times, but question is can you beat me?" Vincent asked.

Reina grinned and drew. "I just might try," she said with a smirk. "I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."

Vincent drew. _"Hmmm, she must realize that if she tries to destroy my monster she'll still take a hit, a slightly less powerful hit, but a hit none the less,"_ he thought.

"Well nothing ventured nothing gained!" he cried. "Ruby Dragon attack, Ruby Burst Steam!" the Dragon roared and opened its maw and unleashed another stream of flames.

"Hold on!" Reina shouted. "Reveal face down card, Black Rose Shield!" a barrier of red rose petals sprung up in front of Reina. They pushed the attack back and slammed into the Dragon forcing it to cover itself with its wings.

"Ok what just happened?" Vincent asked.

"What would be my Trap card, Black Rose Shield, when you attack and I have Black Rose Dragon in the Graveyard, it forces your monster into defense mode, then if revives Black Rose Dragon!" the ground exploded and Black Rose Dragon reappeared.

"Oh crap," Vincent gasped.

"Well are you going to end your turn?" Reina asked.

Vincent looked over his hand and sighed. "I have no choice."

Reina drew. "I activate Black Rose Dragon's special effect and remove Rose Knight Swordsman from the Graveyard to force your Dragon into attack mode and reduce its attack points down to zero!" Black Rose Dragon roared and her vines flew forward and forced Ruby Dragon to stand up. (ATK 3000-0/DEF 1200)

"Go, Black Rose Flare!" Black Rose Dragon roared and unleashed a torrent of flames. Ruby Rider jumped off the Dragon's back and the attack slammed into him.

Reina blinked a few times. "Ok why aren't your Life Points going down?"

"My Trap card, Rider's Pride since my Ruby Rider was destroyed all battle damage from that attack directed towards me is reduced to zero," Vincent explained. (ATK 0-2200/DEF 1200)

"Ok I'll activate my face down card, Fury of the Black Rose, since my Dragon failed to destroy a monster this turn, she can attack again!" Black Rose Dragon fired another jet of flames this time consuming Ruby Dragon.

**(Reina: 5500) - (Vincent: 5700)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Reina sighed.

"I have to admit," she said. "If this wasn't a Darkness Game, I'd actually be having fun."

Vincent chuckled. "What's so funny?" Reina asked.

"My grandmother once told me a similar thing, except she was having fun, despite the fact she was involved in a Darkness Game," he replied.

Reina arched a brow and looked slightly bemused. "You must have one odd family," she muttered.

"Oh and if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black I don't know what is," Vincent said before he burst out laughing.

Reina sighed. "Ok, I get it ya my folks are odd balls, really odd balls in the grand scheme of things, considering all they've been through."

"I know," Vincent chuckled. "But my grandmother went through some, weird stuff too."

"Ok enough pleasantries," he said pulling the top card off his Deck. "I activate Tribute to the Doomed!" bandages shot out of the ground and constricted Black Rose Dragon, she cried out before being dragged under. "I discard a card from my hand and they one monster on your side of the field is destroyed."

"I know, Zeke and Rob both have a copy of that," Reina said.

"Ok, so I'll summon Electro Rider!" a man in blue armor with lightning bolt designs on it jumped onto the field, in his hand was a spear shaped like a bolt of lightning. (ATK 1700/DEF 1400)

"Attack her directly with Shock Spear!" the Warrior spun his weapon around and hurled it at Reina. She moved out of the way, but her Life Points still took a hit.

**(Reina: 3800) - (Vincent: 5700)**

"Well I've got nothing left I can do, so turn end," he said.

Reina drew and grinned. "I activate Monster Reborn and revive Black Rose Dragon!" the ankh appeared as did Black Rose Dragon.

"Now I summon Copy Plant!" the mass of vines grew out of the ground and took a humanoid shape. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Huh?" Vincent said. "I don't get it why'd you summon a Tuner?"

Reina grinned and Vincent's eyebrows nearly flew off his head. "No way! You can't have _that_ monster!" he shouted.

"Oh but I do, I tune my level one, Copy Plant, with my level seven, Black Rose Dragon…!" Reina shouted.

"_Clustering hopes will combine to create a shining new star! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Reverberate. Stardust Dragon!"_

Copy Plant became a single green ring that Black Rose Dragon flew into. She was reduced to orange framework and a burst of light brighter than normal was produced.

And from it flew one of Yusei Fudo's most famous monsters. A large silver scaled Dragon with an arrow shaped head. (ATK 2500/DEF 2000)

Vincent looked stunned. "Amazing I've not only seen Black Rose Dragon, which I always thought was your ace monster, but I've also seen Stardust Dragon, your father's and apparently your ace monster," he commented.

"Well until two days ago, you were one-hundred percent right about Black Rose Dragon being my ace, but I managed to defeat my father and claim my birthright!" Reina declared happily. "This is the first time _I've_ ever used him!"

"Ok Stardust Dragon attack his Rider with Cosmic Flare!" Stardust Dragon roared and fired a blast of fire flames from its maw, vaporizing the hapless Warrior.

**(Reina: 3800) - (Vincent: 4900)**

"I'll end my turn," Reina grinned.

"_Crap!"_ Vincent shouted mentally. _"That thing has a really annoying effect, and its attack points are nothing to sneeze at either."_

"I'll set a monster and end my turn," he sighed.

"I'll have Stardust Dragon attack your face down monster!" the silver Dragon fired another blast of flames incinerating the face down monster.

"Well thank you, because you just destroyed my Apprentice Rider, so now I can add any Rider monster from my Deck to my hand," a card slid out of the white haired boy's Deck.

"I'll end my turn," Reina said.

Vincent drew and broke into a huge grin. "I activate Dragonic Soul Offering!" he cried. "I remove Dragon or Warrior type monsters from my Graveyard and then depending on the number I removed I can count those monsters as releases for the summoning of a Dragon type monster in my hand, I'll remove Flame Dragon and his Rider," the named card fell out of Vincent's Graveyard and he slapped one of the cards in his hand onto the tray of his Duel Disk.

"Meet my second most powerful Dragon, Solar Dragon!" a blast of light so bright Reina had no choice but to cover he eyes, exploded on Vincent's side of the field. Reina opened her eyes and gasped. The Dragon that had been summoned was huge. Its scales seemed to be made of solid gold and its eyes shone like the sun itself. (ATK 2600/DEF 2200)

"And of course when he's summoned I can call forth Solar Rider from my hand and guess who I used Apprentice Rider's effect to add to my hand," another, albeit smaller burst of light appeared next to Solar Dragon. A man in gold armor with a flowing silver cape appeared on the field. In his hand he held an ornate spear with the blade designed to look like the sun. (ATK 1800/DEF 1800)

"Now Solar Rider, do your thing!" Vincent commanded and the Rider jumped into the air and landed on the Dragon's neck. (ATK 2600-3400/DEF 2200)

"This guy is even stronger than a Blue-Eyes White Dragon now, so destroy her Stardust Dragon with Solar Beam!" the Dragon roared and spread its wings. Somehow particles of light were pulled into them and the Dragon parted its jaws and fired a burst of pure sunlight. The attack struck Stardust Dragon immolating it instantly.

A tear steamed down Reina's cheek. "Sorry dad, sorry Stardust," she whispered.

"Man I feel really bad about trashing Stardust Dragon but, why haven't your Life Points gone down?" Vincent asked.

"I activated my face down card Defense Draw, so not only was the damage to me reduced to zero, but Stardust's sacrifice was not in vain!" Reina declared as she tore the top card off her Deck.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Vincent said.

Reina drew and her face lit up. "I activate Swords of Revealing Light, so now for three of your turns you may not attack!" three glowing swords slammed into the ground in front of Solar Dragon.

"And I'm not done yet, I activate Premature Burial to revive Stardust Dragon!" the silver Dragon burst out of the ground and roared causing the dome of dark energy to shake.

**(Reina: 3000) - (Vincent: 4900)**

"Now I'll end my turn," she said.

Vincent drew. "I'll simply pass," he said as one of the swords vanished.

"I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the Pot of Greed appeared again and Vincent winced slightly, his Deck was getting low on cards.

"Now I'll set two cards face down and, turn end," Reina said.

"Once again I pass," Vincent said as the second sword disappeared.

"Ok I'll activate De-Synchro, allowing me to send Stardust back to the Extra Deck for its Synchro Material monsters!" Stardust Dragon vanished and Black Rose Dragon and Copy Plant appeared yet again.

"Now I re-Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon!" the Synchro Summoning process began again and Stardust Dragon reappeared.

"Ok care to tell me the point of that little move?" Vincent asked.

"It was so I could use this!" Reina shouted as her face down card flipped open. "Reveal, Synchro Strike, this Trap card powers up Stardust Dragon by 500 points times the number of Synchro Material monsters, in this case two," a fire violet aura surrounded Stardust Dragon. (ATK 2500-3500/DEF 2000)

"Stardust Dragon destroy Solar Rider with Cosmic Flare!" Stardust Dragon fired its breath weapon and the Rider on the Dragon's back jumped to take the attack.

**(Reina: 3800) - (Vincent: 4800)**

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," she said as the aura faded away. (ATK 3500-2500/DEF 2000)

Vincent drew and winced. "I'll….." he wasn't sure what to do, he couldn't attack, and even if he could Reina had two cards face down. "I'll move my Dragon to defence mode," the golden Dragon covered itself with its wings as the last sword vanished.

"Stardust Dragon attack his Dragon!" Reina's monster fired its attack obliterating the Dragon. "Now I'll activate my face down card Synchro Destructor, so since Stardust Dragon a Synchro monster destroyed a monster by battle you take half that monster's original attack points," a ghostly version of Solar Dragon appeared behind Stardust Dragon and slammed into the white haired boy.

**(Reina: 3800) - (Vincent: 3500)**

"And my turn isn't over yet, I activate my other set card, Call of the Haunted to revive Black Rose Dragon!" the petal covered Dragon burst out of the ground and looked happily at Stardust Dragon.

"Black Rose Dragon, direct attack!" Black Rose Dragon fired a burst of flames at Vincent who cried out when he was hit.

**(Reina: 3800) - (Vincent: 1100)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Reina said.

Vincent drew and grimaced. "I end my turn, so finish me."

"Ok Black Rose Dragon, _finish him_!" Vincent held up his arms in an attempted to fend off the deadly attack that was sure to hit him. He blinked and opened his eyes. He saw Black Rose Dragon looking straight at him. He gulped half expecting her to tear him limb from limb, but instead she nudged him causing him to stumble backwards.

**(Reina: 3800) - (Vincent: 0)**

Reina giggled. "I love doing that."

"That was kind of…." Vincent began only to clutch his head and cry out in pain. He collapsed to his knees and cried out in agony.

Reina ran over to him. "Hey what's wrong?" she asked as the holograms faded away. Vincent seemed to be unable to hear her and just continued to scream.

The principal's office

The cloaked figure had finished drawing the rune lined, circle not to long ago and smirked. "Hmmm it seems young Vincent lost, oh well I have no use for him anyway, may as well let him go," the said before snapping their fingers.

The dome

Vincent pitched forward and passed out much to Reina's horror. "Holy crap, what happened to him?" a familiar voice asked.

Reina looked up and saw Josh. "Where did you come from?" she asked.

"I've been here for a while, I couldn't get into that freaky dome, what was it?" he inquired.

"It was a Darkness Game," Reina replied grimly.

"Ugh, anyone get the number of that truck that ran me over," Vincent moaned. He sat up and looked around. "Ok, where am I?"

"You're alive!" Reina and Josh shouted in unison.

"Ya, I'm pretty sure of that, hey you look familiar," he said indicating Reina.

"Ya I think we were in the same History of Dueling last year," she muttered. "But you're alive."

"Once again, ya I'm pretty sure of that," Vincent responded. "But I feel like I've been run over by a truck and I ran a marathon at the same time."

"Now that you mention it I feel kind of worn out too," Reina said.

"Whatever let's get going," Josh grumbled. Vincent stood up and the three began to walk down the hallway.

The principal's office

The circle emitted a faint orange glow. "Yes, soon very soon they will be free and the final stages of my plan may begin," the cloaked person laughed.

"Sir I believe, Joshua Atlas, Reina Fudo and Vincent Merchet are on their way here, maybe you should leave," the female voice from earlier said.

"Fear not Sonia, you see I want them to meet me, I even plan on revealing my face to them," the cloaked man chuckled.

"But sir, you'd that be dangerous!" Sonia shouted.

The cloaked man glared at Sonia who shrunk back in terror. "No Sonia, it isn't," he said slowly. "Because you see they can't do anything to stop me."

Sonia nodded. "Yes sir, I'm sorry I questioned you," she said apologetically.

**Josh: Well that duel is done.**

**Melissa: And Reina has triumphed yet again!  
**

**Zeke: Yep, but we're going to switch away from those three and meet up with Rob, wow really!**

**Rob: Wait I'm not dueling dead last!**

**Reina: It appears not.**

**Vincent: Don't miss Infernal Machinery.**

**Rob: Ye haw! I get to duel!**

**Original Cards**

Plant Spirit

Image: The hand of Cactus Fighter bursting out of the ground.

| Trap | If this card is destroyed while face down you may Special Summon a Plant type monster from your Graveyard.

Rose Mage Serune

Earth | Level 4 | Plant/Effect | 1500/1600 | When this card is used as Synchro Material to Synchro Summon a Plant type monster or Black Rose Dragon, you may add one level four or lower Plant type monster from your Graveyard to your hand, except 'Rose Mage Serune'

Dragonic Soul Exchange

Image: A tombstone with Dragon Ice's picture on it, Armed Dragon LV5's shadow can be seen.

| Spell | Select a Dragon type monster in your Graveyard, then select one Dragon type monster in your Deck whose level is the same as the first selected monster, Special Summon the second selected monster. (The Special Summoned monster cannot attack this turn.)

Ruby Dragon

Earth | Level 5 | Dragon/Effect | 2200/1200 | When this card is Summoned you may Special Summon one Ruby Rider from your hand. If you don't have a 'Ruby Rider' in your hand when you summon this card, you may draw one card.

Berserker Assault

Image: Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with Berserk Dragon in spirit form behind it, blasting four Scapegoats.

| Spell | Select one monster you control, until the End Phase it may attack every monster on your opponent's side of the field. Other monsters you control may not attack this turn.

Black Rose Shield

Image: Black Rose Dragon roaring at a Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon.

| Trap | Activate this card only while you have a 'Black Rose Dragon' in your Graveyard, when one of your opponent's monsters declares an attack. Switch all your opponent's monsters to defense mode and Special Summon 'Black Rose Dragon' from your Graveyard.

Rider's Pride

Image: Several Riders fighting against Despair from the Dark.

| Trap | Activate this card during the Battle Phase in which a 'Rider' or 'Dragon' monster on your side of the field was destroyed as a result of battle. You take no damage from the attack of one of your opponent's monsters. You may activate this card if it is in the Graveyard by removing it from play.

Fury of the Black Rose

Image: Akiza commanding Black Rose Dragon to attack Yusei and Stardust Dragon.

| Trap | Activate this card if a 'Black Rose Dragon' you control failed to destroy an opponent's monster by, it may attack again.

Electro Rider

Light | Level 4 | Warrior/Union | 1700/1400 | Once per turn you may equip this card to an Electro Dragon you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. When the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster as a result of battle, your opponent my not activate any Spell or Trap cards until the End Phase. If the equipped monster would be destroyed you may destroy this card instead.

Apprentice Rider

Earth | Level 3 | Warrior/Effect | 1200/1100 | When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard you may add one 'Rider' monster from your Deck to your hand.

Dragonic Soul Offering

Image: The souls of Cave Dragon and Masked Dragon flowing into Tyrant Dragon.

| Spell | Remove up to two Dragon or Warrior type monsters from your Graveyard. Any Dragon type monsters Normal Summoned this turn are counted to have the removed monsters used as Releases.

Solar Dragon

Light | Level 7 | Dragon/Effect | 2600/2200 | When this card is Summoned you may Special Summon one Solar Rider from your hand. If you don't have a 'Solar Rider' in your hand when you summon this card, you may draw one card.

Solar Rider

Light | Level 4 | Warrior/Union | 1800/1800 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a Solar Dragon you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. The equipped monster gains 400 attack and defense points, and once per turn you may discard one card from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy one monster your opponent controls. (If you activate this effect the equipped monster cannot attack this turn.) If the equipped monster would be destroyed you may destroy this card instead.


	14. Ch14: Infernal Machinery

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Fourteen: Infernal Machinery

While Reina was just about to begin her duel with Vincent Rob was just waking up. "Ugh, what happened," he groaned as he sat up and looked around.

"Huh, looks like I'm in the gym, but the big question is how did I end up here?" he asked.

He heard footsteps and saw another person walking into the gym. He gasped because he hadn't expected to see the person. "B…b…but how are you here?" Rob stuttered.

The person grinned. "I'm here to crush you, at the behest of my master," the person responded.

"But you're dead!" Rob shouted.

The person he was talking to was Kendra Walker, the girl who had dueled and lost to Zeke. "No I am not dead, I just serve another master now," she replied with a nasty smirk.

"Now on your feet, slime so I can crush you in a duel!" she laughed.

"Man you're still a monstrous bitch, just like when Zeke beat you, and with his weakest Deck no less," Rob smirked.

"Shut up!" Kendra snapped. "From what I've heard you've never once beaten him either."

Rob smirked. "One minor difference princess, I've never face his weakest Deck, only his Archfiend and Infernity Deck," he explained.

Kendra looked livid, her face was turning bright red. "I will crush you!" she roared activating her Duel Disk.

"Let's see if your Machines can handle my Blackwings," Rob smirked activating his Disk.

**(Rob: 8000) ---- (Kendra: 8000)**

"I'll start it off!" Kendra shouted. "I set one monster and then I set a card face down and that'll be all."

Rob arched a brow and grinned. "If that's all you've got, you'll never beat me," he grinned drawing his sixth card.

"I'm calling out Blackwing – Bora the Spear!" in a burst of darkness the spear wielding bird-man appeared. (ATK 1700/DEF 800)

"Bora attack her face down monster with Death Spiral!" Bora took to the air and then swooped down, enveloped in a spiral of dark energy.

He slammed a bulky blue Machine that looked sort of like a tank. His spear bounced off its armor and he was sent backwards.

**(Rob: 7900) ---- (Kendra: 8000)**

"Huh, what's that thing?" Rob asked.

"This is Machina Defender (ATK 1200/DEF 1800), and his defense was too high for your bird brained monster to get through also I'm able to add a specific monster from my Deck to my hand when it's flipped," Kendra explained mockingly.

Rob growled. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"I summon Machina Gearframe!" the orange humanoid Machine jumped onto the field, it seemed to be smirking at Rob. (ATK 1800/DEF 0)

Something suddenly caught Rob's attention. He and Kendra were being surrounded by the same fog like substance that surrounded Reina and Josh.

"Ok what is this," the Blackwing duelist demanded.

"This is a Darkness Game, and as the son of a Signer you should know what that entails," Kendra sneered.

"This is insane!" Rob shouted. "We could both be killed, why'd you start a Darkness Game?"

Kendra shrugged. "No real reason I was ordered to, so I did as I was told."

"Fine just continue with your move," Rob said gritting his teeth.

"I activate Machine Armored Unit, its effect is pretty useful but we'll get to it later," Kendra explained.

"Gearframe destroy his pathetic bird!" the robot raised its arms and unleashed a barrage of laser fire that struck Bora, destroying the Winged-Beast.

**(Rob: 7800) ---- (Kendra: 8000)**

"Heh, I'll end my turn loser," Kendra laughed.

Rob drew and grinned. "Since you control at least one monster and I have none, I can call out Sirocco the Dawn without a release!" in another explosion of darkness a larger bird-man appeared. The plumage around his head was dark blue, and his arms and legs were thin. (ATK 2000/DEF 900)

"Attack her Gearframe with Dark Slash!" Sirocco's claws began glow, he shot forward and sliced the Machine into pieces.

**(Rob: 7800) ---- (Kendra: 7800)**

"Now the effect of my Armored Unit card activates and I can Special Summon a monster that has lower attack points and is the same attribute as my lost Gearframe," Kendra explained. "So I'll summon Machina Soldier!" from the Spell card appeared a robot in green armor with a curved knife replacing one of its hands. (ATK 1600/DEF 1500)

"Ok I'll set a card face down and then, turn end," Rob shrugged.

Kendra drew and smirked. "I summon Heavy Mech Support Platform!" the small fighter jet flew onto the field and hovered next to the mechanical Soldier. (ATK 500/DEF 500)

"Now I'll equip it to my Soldier!" the jet linked up with the green armored robot, forming into a jet pack and allowing the Soldier to take to the air. (ATK 1600-2100/DEF 1500-2000)

"Machina Solider attack his Sirocco with Mechanical Slash!" the now airborne Soldier rocketed forward, its knife aimed at Sirocco's chest.

"Or I have a better idea!" Rob shouted. "Reveal face down card Rush Recklessly, which will boost Sirocco's attack points by 700 until the End Phase," (ATK 2000-2700/DEF 900)

Sirocco effortlessly dodged the attack and slashed the jet pack causing it to spark and explode.

**(Rob: 7800) ---- (Kendra: 7200)**

Kendra growled. "Damn, alright I'll end my turn."

Rob drew and smirked. "Sirocco attack her Machina Soldier!" the bird-man streaked forward his claws ready.

"I activate Metal Soul Shield!" Sirocco's claws hit the robot causing an explosion of sparks but the mechanical Soldier remained intact.

"Huh, but how?" Rob questioned.

**(Rob: 7800) ---- (Kendra: 6800)**

"Fool," Kendra sneered. "It was because of my Metal Soul Shield, because you see this powerful continuous Trap card allows me to negate the destruction of a Machine type monster just once per turn."

"You've got to be kidding me, does that card have any cost?" Rob demanded.

Kendra's smirk grew. "Nope, it's totally cost free," she laughed.

"What, but that's a complete load of crap!" Rob cried.

"Tough, now are you going to end your turn so I can crush you or not?" Kendra asked.

"No, I'll just set a monster and end my turn," Rob grumbled.

Kendra drew and grinned. "I activate the useful Double Summon, so now I can Normal Summon twice this turn," she laughed.

"First I summon Commander Covington!" a robot in a military style uniform appeared on the field. (ATK 1000/DEF 600)

"Now I'll call out the final piece of the puzzle!" she declared proudly. "Your friend is lucky I never managed to get the pieces for this card together in our duel, because I would've crushed him if I had!"

"I really don't like the sound of that," Rob said as he started to sweat.

"Come forth Machina Sniper!" a tan robot holding the futuristic sniper rifle jumped onto the field. (ATK 1800/DEF 800)

"Ok so you have a bunch of monsters, unless you have Union Attack I'm going to say you're full of crap," Rob scoffed.

"No I don't have that, but I will activate Commander Covington's effect, and send my Machina Soldier, Defender and Sniper to the Graveyard to call out from my Deck, **Machina Force!**" Commander Covington pulled a whistle out of nowhere and blew into it.

The eyes of the three other Machines began to glow. Then they jumped into the air and disassembled. They then linked together to form an enormous battle mech. (ATK 4600/DEF 4100)

Rob's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the monster's stats. "Holy crap, that thing, it's stronger than the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" he shouted in pure disbelief.

"Yes it sure is, and this is a soulless killing Machine just like KaibaCorp," Kendra laughed. "Cool isn't it?"

"No it isn't, things only built to kill make me want to vomit!" Rob snapped. "If you actually think that what KaibaCorp used to do was good, you're a bigger monster than that giant killer whale my old man fought against!"

"Bah, you just can't see the beauty this Machine possesses but soon you will, not that you'll be alive to see it, Machina Force kill his Sirocco!" the massive Machine aimed its arsenal at Rob's monster. It unleashed a laser barrage that complete erased Sirocco.

**(Rob: 5200) ---- (Kendra: 5800)**

Rob had been knocked back by the blast but looked at Kendra with a puzzled look. "Ok mind explaining why your Life Points just dropped?"

"Sure, it's because Machina Force requires a payment of 1000 Life Points to attack," Kendra smirked. "But it's well worth it, so I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

Rob drew and scowled. Right now the cards in his hand were just about useless. _"Damn it! Even if I could Synchro Summon, the monster I could summon would just die!"_ he thought angrily.

"I'll set a card face down and call it a turn," Rob sighed.

"Ha, now you're about to take a beating like you've never taken before!" Kendra exclaimed gleefully. "I equip my Machine Force with Fairy Meteor Crush!" the gigantic Machine began to glow a fiery red colour.

"Now when it attacks it won't matter what mode your monster is in," Kendra laughed. "Now…."

"Reveal face down card Threatening Roar!" a loud beastly roar could be heard and Machina Force drew back slightly. "Now your monster can't attack this turn."

"Fine, but in the end your resistance is pointless!" Kendra snarled. "I'll just end my turn!"

Rob drew and grimaced. "Shit, nothing," he said. "I have, I have to pass."

Kendra started laughing so hard she clutched her stomach. "It looks like the Gods have abandoned you!"

Rob sighed. "Just make your move!"

"Gladly," Kendra sneered. "I activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and Kendra handed her two cards after having drawn three.

**(Rob: 5200) ---- (Kendra: 5000)**

"Now I activate Premature Burial to revive the Cyber Dragon I just discarded!" from the ground burst a metal serpent. It's sleek metal body glinting even in the darkness. (ATK 2100/DEF 1600)

"Cyber Dragon attack his face down monster with Evolution Burst!" the mechanical serpent opened its mouth and released a burst of energy vaporizing Rob's face down monster, which looked like a black feathered bird with a large silver mask.

"Machina Force attack him directly and end his pathetic life with Machina Assault!" the mech aimed its weapons and unleashed another deadly barrage of lasers.

**(Rob: 5200) ---- (Kendra: 4000)**

The attack seemed to slam into Rob hurling him backwards and causing him to slam into the ground with a dull thud. "Hmmm I wonder if he's alive, and why didn't his Life Points go down, his face down card is still visible so his gear isn't broken, oh well if he regains consciousness I'll ask him," Kendra smirked.

-****-

Rob opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but a spasm of pain floored him. He looked around, and he didn't know where he was in a very dark place, darker than where he'd just been, in fact it was pitch black.

From the shadows a pair of glowing red eyes appeared and a low growl emanated from the unseen monsters. _"Great I must have died when the impact from that attack hit me,"_ Rob thought idly.

"No boy," an authoritative voice told him. "You are very much alive, just unconscious." Rob looked and saw someone coming out of the darkness. The eyes were gone as was the growling.

A man stepped out of the shadows. He was dressed in black armor with red streaks, his helm looked like that of a wicked black Dragon. But something Rob that struck Rob as weird was this guys face looked almost exactly like his father's, minus the Criminal Marks.

"Stand boy!" the man shouted. "Or are you too weak to stand, if so you disgust me!"

Rob growled and despite the pain he stood up. He winced and walked over to the armored figure. "Listen buddy, I don't care if you look like my old man, but don't insult me and then try to order me around," Rob said.

"Good you finally stood up, now wake up and face this girl in battle, like a man," the armored man said with a faint smile.

Rob face fell with a loud crash. "Who are you?"

The armored man smirked. "You know who, just look in your heart, and WAKE UP!" he shouted punching Rob.

-****-

Rob jumped up and yelped in pain. He clutched the cheek the armored guy had punched and noticed it didn't actually hurt. Kendra looked at him with a quizzical look. "What was that?" she asked.

Rob blinked a few times. _"Ok what just happened?"_ he asked himself. "Oh well no point dwelling on it," he muttered softly.

"So how come you didn't take any damage when my Machina Force nailed you directly?" Kendra questioned.

"Oh that, well you see the monster you trashed was called Blackwing – Mistral the Silver Shield and when he's destroyed the next attack I take, well it deals no battle damage to me," Rob grinned.

"Hmph, oh well I'll end my turn," she scowled.

Rob drew. "I must admit your direct attack actually helped me, just a bit it snapped me out of the anger I was feeling," he told her with a grin.

"So it's time for my comeback!" he declared. "I activate Monster Reborn to revive my Bora the Spear!" the lance wielding Winged-Beast flew from the ankh, his normal grin twisted into a look of anger.

"Now I'll summon this guy, Gale the Whirlwind!" another burst of black feathers appeared and from it the green headed bird as well. (ATK 1300/DEF 400)

"Now I'll activate his effect and halve your Machina Force's attack and defense points!" Gale began to flap his wings firing blades of wind that sliced into the gigantic Machine. (ATK 4600-2300/DEF 4100-2050)

"Now I tune my level three, Gale the Whirlwind with my level four, Bora the Spear…."

"_Dark gales lift the wings that will soar forth to unreachable heights! Synchro Summon and take flight, Blackwing Armor Master!"_

Gale flew into the air with Bora close behind. The smaller avian creature became three green rings, and Bora flew through them being reduced to framework. There was an explosion of darkness.

Rob's monster slowly descended slowly. Its body for the most part covered in jet black armor with orange markings, it had what appeared to be a large red gem embedded in its helmet. (ATK 2500/DEF 1500)

"Armor Master attack Commander Covington with Black Hurricane!" Armor Master flew forward with blistering speed and slashed the smaller robot sending it flying back, but not destroying it.

**(Rob: 5200) ---- (Kendra: 2500)**

"You're monster may have survived but you took a major hit," Rob smirked. "One card face down then, turn end."

Kendra drew and snarled. "Damn you!" she hissed. "I'll move my monsters into defense mode and end my turn," the three Machines crouched down, or in Cyber Dragon's case coiled up in a defensive manner.

Rob drew and smiled. "Oh ya lady luck is finally on my side!" he exclaimed cheerfully. "I activate Magical Mallet, this card let's me take my hand and shuffle it back into my Deck they draw that many new cards."

Rob took his whole hand and added it to his Deck. He then hit the auto-shuffle button and after a second his Deck spat out four new cards. His face lit up. "Oh ya, now this had rocks!"

"I summon Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame!" in another burst of black feathers appeared another humanoid bird. It had blue feathers covering its head and thin arms. (ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"Now I activate from my hand Mystical Space Typhoon, my target your Machine Soul Shield!" the cyclone tore the Trap card to pieces.

"Now I'll follow that with Double Summon and thanks to its effect I can summon Blizzard the Far North!" another bird like creature appeared, this one looked like a seagull with black markings.

"Shura attack Cyber Dragon!" Shura flew and with his claws cleaved the serpentine Machine in half. "Now I can Special Summon a Blackwing monster with 1500 or less attack points but I'm going to choose not to activate that effect," Rob said

"Blizzard attack her Commander Covington with Freezing Gale!" Blizzard began to flap is wings and the wind that struck the robot froze it solid, before it shattered moments later.

"Armor Master you're up attack her Machina Force with Black Hurricane!" Armor Master took off with an amazing burst of speed and slashed the giant Machine causing it to spark before it exploded into a million little pieces.

"I must thank you, you moron because you've activated my Machina Armored Unit and call out Machina Fortress!" the Spell card began to glow and the large blue tank like Machine rolled onto the field. (ATK 2500/DEF 1600)

"Ok well I'll move to my Main Phase two and tune my level two, Blizzard the Far North, with my level four, Shura the Blue Flame….."

"_The fierce dark winds buffer the enemy with your unrelenting force! Synchro Summon and soar Blackwing Armed Wing!"_

Blizzard squawked and soared into the sky. Shura followed behind and Blizzard turned into two green rings that surrounded Shura.

The gun totting Winged-Beast slowly appeared from the burst of darkness. He aimed his weapon at Kendra causing her to step back slightly.

"I'll end my turn," Rob grinned.

Kendra drew and smirked. "Let me guess you want me to attack your Armed Wing dealing minor damage, but thinking you won't risk your Armor Master in a suicide mission, well I know it's effect!" she shouted causing Rob to gulp.

"I'll summon Machina Peacekeeper," a small red robot with no arms and three wheels rolled onto the field. (ATK 500/DEF 400)

"Now I'll use my Peacekeeper's Union effect and attach it my Fortress!" the smaller robot crackled with electricity and linked up with the larger Machine.

"Ok but it didn't make it any stronger, so I guessing all it does is make it destruction proof once?" Rob asked sarcastically.

Kendra snickered and spun a card in her hand around causing Rob to gasp in shock. "I activate Limiter Removal!" she cried and electricity exploded out of Machina Fortress in massive bolts of electric energy. "This'll double my Fortress' attack points and would destroy it during the End Phase under normal circumstances!" (ATK 2500-5000/DEF 1600)

"Machina Fortress reduce his Armed Wing to ashes!" the tank like Machine aimed its laser cannon and fired it vaporizing Armed Wing in an instant.

**(Rob: 2500) ---- (Kendra: 2500)**

"Whoa we're dead even! Rob gasped. "And why do I get the feeling someone has said something similar to that already?"

"I'll end my turn," Kendra sneered as Machina Peacekeeper sparked then exploded. (ATK 5000-2500/DEF 1600)

Rob arched an eyebrow. _"Ok it's almost as if she wants me to trash her monster, I must have some kind of effect that will take out my Armor Master, well isn't she in for a surprise,"_ he thought.

Rob drew and got a funny feeling as he did.

-****-

Blackbird Delivery Main Headquaters

Crow Hogan was just walking out of the building and yawned. "Man I can't wait to get home," he said stretching his arms above his head. He had to stay late this night due to an incident he had to clear up much to his annoyance. "Sometimes I wish Terri hadn't convinced me to expand on this."

He felt a tingling sensation on his right arm and pulled back his sleeve. A glowing red mark shaped like an arrow head was burning brightly. He grinned. "Well Pearson, looks like I entrusted your legacy to the right person."

-****-

Duel Academy Gymnasium

Rob drew his card and his face lit up. "Yes!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Kendra covered her ears and snarled. "What is your problem you nitwit?"

"Heh, nothing I'm just psyched I'll get to summon my namesake's ace monster!" Rob declared with a wide grin on his lips. "I activate my Premature Burial and revive my Armed Wing!" from the ground burst the gun wielding bird-man.

**(Rob: 1700) ---- (Kendra: 2500)**

"Now I summon a second Mistral the Silver Shield!" another bird appeared this one had been seen already, it looked like an owl with a large silver mask on. (ATK 100/DEF 1800)

"Now I tune my level two, Mistral the Silver Shield with my level six, Armed Wing……!"

"_These dark gales give rise to the wings that soar with resolved hope! Synchro Summon, Soar, Black-Winged Dragon!"_

Mistral took to the air with Armed Wing right behind. Mistral became two green rings that covered the Blackwing Synchro. The explosion of darkness was enormous this time.

From it emerged a mass Dragon monster. It body was for the most pair pitch black, it had large blade shaped feathers that were stark white, its face resembled a bird more than a Dragon. (ATK 2800/DEF 1600)

"Meet my namesake's ultimate monster, the legendary replacement Fifth Dragon, Black-Winged Dragon!" Rob announced. "And he'll be helping me finish this!" as Rob said this Black-Winged Dragon roared and its feathers began to turn black with a single red stripe on each.

"Armor Master attack and destroy her Fortress with Black Hurricane!" the armored Winged-Beast shot forward and dug his claws into the enemy Machine causing it to spark and explode.

"Fool!" Kendra laughed. "Now you've activated my Fortress' other effect, which only works when its destroyed by battle, I can destroy one card you control, so your Black-Winged Dragon is dead!" a burst of energy flew out of Kendra's Graveyard and was about to strike the odd looking Dragon.

"Sorry but that won't be happening!" Rob shouted as the face down card he'd set back on his first turn flipped up. "Reveal Dark Illusion, now since you've targeted a Dark type monster on my side of the field I can use this card, and negate your monster's effect!" a sliver cloaked phantom appeared and jumped in the way of the laser.

"So, if that's all you've got, then Black-Winged Dragon end it with Nova Stream, but try not to hurt her?" the Dragon parted its jaws and fired a burst of dark fire that struck Kendra causing her to cry out.

**(Rob: 1700) ---- (Kendra: 0)**

"Looks like I win!" Rob shouted.

Kendra groaned as the fog disappeared. She sat up holding her head. "What am I doing here?" she asked.

"Huh, don't you know you claimed you'd betrayed Josh and had a new master," Rob told her.

"Well the last thing I remember is that cloaked jerk and some white haired kid beating all of us at the same time, and then everything went dark," Kendra said as Rob helped her to her feet.

Rob shrugged. "I have not clue then, but we should get going," he muttered. Kendra looked like she was going to say something but just shrugged and the pair walked out of the gym.

**Reina: Wow, so it seems Black-Winged, or Blackfeather Dragon if you're a traditionalist, has made its debut.**

**Zeke: Maybe now Rob stands half a chance of beating me.**

**Melissa: Hooray, Kazuki is going to duel next chapter.**

**Josh: Goody more rats.**

**Rob: They're not rats you idiot, they're Kuriboh.**

**Kazuki: Coming up next: Grudge Match.**

**Reina: As always the boss doesn't own Yu-gi-oh! The real life Kazuki Takahashi does.**

**Original Card**

Metal Soul Shield

Image: a ghostly version of Mechainicalchaser protecting Machine King.

| Continuous Trap | Once per turn when a Machine type monster would be destroyed negate that card's destruction. If you don't have a Machine type monster in your Graveyard this card is destroyed.


	15. Ch15: Grudge Match

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Fifteen: Grudge Match

While Reina was duelling Vincent and Rob was duelling Kendra, Kazuki was just walking up. "Ugh what happened?" he groaned as he sat up.

"Hmmm I wonder what happened to the others?" he asked.

He stood up and dusted himself off. "I'd better go find them they may need my help," he said as he began to walk towards the door.

The Principal's office

The cloaked man chuckled. "Well Kazuki, you've practically delivered yourself to me, and this time no one will save you."

"Sir, how do you know Kazuki Takahashi?" Sonia asked.

The cloaked man grinned but Sonia couldn't see that. "Sonia I know Kazuki and he was at one time my adopted son, Takahashi isn't actually his true last name, it's his mother's last name," he explained.

"So what happened?" Sonia inquired.

"Well I trained him to be a powerful duelist, he would've been in Xander or Talia's place as the wielder of what we're trying to obtain here and now, but sadly he ran away with some do-gooder's when he found out people would have to die for our great cause, too bad he is one of the best duelists I've ever met, his father was also an unbelievably powerful duelist, but he vanished several years ago I'm not quiet sure why he doesn't use the same Deck type or last name as his father he bares the man no ill will," the cloaked man explained.

Sonia only nodded. "Who was his father?"

"It is….,"

The auditorium

Kazuki was just about to walk out the door when someone jumped down in front of him. This startled him causing him to jump back

"Heh, scared you, well consider it part of the pay back I'm about to hit you with," the person snarled.

Kazuki blinked a few times. "You seem familiar, have we met before?" he asked causing the person to fall forward.

The person was Lucian Nerve another member of Josh's group. "Yes I'm Lucian Nerve you pansy!" the younger boy snarled.

Kazuki rubbed his chin. "Oh I remember you, I dueled you a week or so ago, you used Dinosaur's and kept insulting my Kuribohs," he said.

"Yes and you and pathetic little rats humiliated me!" Lucian snarled. "So I've come to get my revenge!" he snapped his fingers and the two were surrounded by a cloud of dark fog.

"What the…..." gasped Kazuki. "Ok what's going on?"

"This is a Darkness Game, and neither of us is leaving until a winner is decided!" Lucian laughed.

Kazuki sighed. "This is crazy, we could both be seriously hurt or killed so why?" he asked.

"Why, because I was ordered to duel anyone who I came across, and the fact that it's you is perfect, now shut up and activate your Duel Disk so I can have my revenge!" Lucian shouted as his Duel Disk came to life.

"I guess I have no choice," Kazuki sighed.

"Duel!" both boys shouted.

**(Kazuki: 8000) ---- (Lucian: 8000)**

"I'll be taking the first move!" Lucian declared pulling the sixth card off the top of his Deck.

"I summon Destroyersaurus!" a large black Dinosaur with purple hair and spikes growing out of its back, as well as having a large blade protruding from the end of its snout. (ATK 1800/DEF 1100)

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Lucian said.

"Not a bad opening move," Kazuki commented. "I summon Winged Kuriboh Archer!" a Winged Kuriboh floated onto the field, the only thing that made it look different from a regular Winged Kuriboh was a small bow it held and a quiver of arrows on its back. (ATK 1400/DEF 900)

"Now I'll activate The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh, this allows me to do one of two things, I'll choose to do the second thing, and that is Special Summon a Winged Kuriboh to the field from my Deck in defense mode!" another winged ball of fluff floated onto the field, this one looked just like Winged Kuriboh Archer minus the bow. (ATK 300/DEF 200)

"Now I'll equip Winged Kuriboh Archer with Kuriboh Soul Shard!" a pendant with a glowing gem appeared on Winged Kuriboh Archer. (ATK 1400-1900/DEF 900-1400)

"Attack his Destroyersaurus with Kuriboh's Arrow!" the winged creature pulled the string on its bow and fired arrow of light. It slammed into the Dinosaur destroying it.

**(Kazuki: 8000) ---- (Lucian: 7900)**

"Ha, that was nothing!" Lucian laughed.

"Maybe not but I'm not done yet, because you see since I have another Kuriboh monster on my side of the field my Winged Kuriboh Archer can attack again since it destroyed one of your monsters by battle," the Kuriboh fired another arrow of light striking Lucian, who didn't seem phased.

**(Kazuki: 8000) ---- (Lucian: 6000)**

"I'll end my turn," Kazuki said with a grin.

"I'm going to tear that stupid grin off your face!" Lucian snarled.

"You know you're honestly not the first person to make that threat," Kazuki chuckled.

"Shut up!" Lucian snapped. "I Special Summon Gilasaurus!" a large brown scaled raptor ran onto the field and growled at the two Kuriboh's. (ATK 1400/DEF 400)

"Normally you'd get to Special Summon a monster from your Graveyard, but yours in totally empty," Lucian explained. "Now I'll release my Gilasaurus to call out the deadly Dark Driceratops!" Gilasaurus disappeared and was replaced with a large Dinosaur that also seemed to be part bird. (ATK 2400/DEF 1500)

"Hmm, I always wondered where the dark in that thing's name came from, I mean last I checked it is an Earth attribute," Kazuki mused.

"Don't know, don't care," Lucian said. "Driceratops attack the regular Winged Kuriboh!" the odd looking Dinosaur let out what sounded like a snarl and caw and the pounced on the small Fairy.

**(Kazuki: 5800) ---- (Lucian: 6000)**

Kazuki groaned and stumbled back. "Ugh so that's what an attack from a monster that has piercing effect feels like for real," the blue haired boy groaned.

"Heh I'll end my turn, let's see your little weaklings save you now," Lucian cackled.

Kazuki drew and scowled. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"I summon Hyper Hammerhead!" another Dinosaur charged onto the field, this one had light brown scales and not surprisingly its head was shaped like a hammer. (ATK 1500/DEF 1200)

"Dark Driceratops destroy his weakling!" the winged Dinosaur charged forward.

"Or I have a better idea!" Kazuki shouted. "Reveal face down card Scarp-Iron Scarecrow!" the junk scarecrow appeared and the Dinosaur slammed into it halting it in its tracks.

"Fine I'll just end my turn," Lucian growled.

"You sound angry, maybe you should sign up for an anger management course," Kazuki said.

"Who asked you, you pansy?" Lucian snapped.

"No one, but anger makes you blind," Kazuki shrugged. "I'll release my Winged Kuriboh Archer to call out Silver Kuriboh!" the bow wielding Fairy dissolved into motes of light.

The motes fused together to form a large Kuriboh with shiny silver fur and slightly longer claws than a regular Kuriboh. (ATK ?/DEF 1200)

"Huh, how is its attack points determined?" Lucian asked.

Kazuki grinned. "It's attack points are the original attack points of the Kuriboh monster used to Advance Summon it plus the released monster's level times 200 is added to that," the silver furred Fiend began to glow. (ATK 0-2200/DEF 1200)

"Heh, looks like it comes up 250 points short of beating my Dark Driceratops," Lucian chuckled.

"At this time I activate the effect of my Kuriboh's Soul Shard and since it when to the Graveyard while being equipped I can Special Summon a Kuriboh monster from my Deck," in a flash of light another Kuriboh appeared. This one seemed to be wearing a lab coat and holding a beaker full of red liquid. (ATK 1200/DEF 700)

"Meet Professor Kuriboh, he has a very handy effect, you see for every Kuriboh monster in my Graveyard he weakens every monster on your side of the field by 200 times that number for both attacking and defending, and I have two Kuribohs in my Graveyard so far," both Lucian's Dinosaurs began to look tired. (ATK 2400-2000/DEF 1500-1100) (ATK 1500-1100/DEF 1200-800)

"Silver Kuriboh destroy Dark Driceratops with Silver Claw!" the silver furred Fiend's claws seemed to extend and it launched itself forward and raked the Dinosaur with its claws.

**(Kazuki: 5800) ---- (Lucian: 5800)**

"Professor Kuriboh attack his Hyper Hammerhead with Explosive Potion!" the other Fiend tossed the beaker it was holding. It hit the Dinosaur causing a thunderous bang and blowing the opposing monster to pixels.

**(Kazuki: 5800) ---- (Lucian: 5700)**

A ghostly version of Hyper Hammerhead appeared and head butted the coat wearing Kuriboh. "Huh, what just happened?" Kazuki questioned.

"That would be my Hyper Hammerhead's special ability, since your monster wasn't destroyed and it battled my monster it was returned to your hand at the end of the Damage Step," Lucian explained.

"Ok I'll end my turn," Kazuki said pulling Professor Kuriboh's card off his Duel Disk.

Lucian drew and began to laugh. "I activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and Lucian handed her two cards after drawing three.

"Now I'll activate my Fossil Excavation!" he exclaimed. "I discard one card and then I can Special Summon a Dinosaur monster my Graveyard and Special Summon it, and if it's an effect monster it's effects are negated, and since the card I'm ditching is my Discard Clause I can draw one card," Lucian pulled a card off the top of his Deck, then the ground exploded and a large long necked Dinosaur that seemed to be made of ice burst out of the ground. (ATK 2600/DEF 1500)

"Meet the strongest one release Normal monster in the game, the mighty Frostosaurus!" Lucian laughed.

"Ok that's not bad, but you seem to have forgotten I have Scrap-Iron Scarecrow face down," Kazuki pointed out.

"I didn't forget and to prove that I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" a whirlwind flew out of the card and shattered Kazuki's only face down.

"Frostosaurus destroy his Kuriboh with Tundra's Rage!" the frozen Dinosaur roared and fired a blast of ice from its jowls freezing the hapless Fiend solid.

**(Kazuki: 5400) ---- (Lucian: 5700)**

"Heh, I'll set one card face down and end my turn," Lucian sneered.

Kazuki drew and grinned. "I activate my Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and Kazuki handed her two cards then she disappeared.

"One of the cards I just discarded was called Parallel Fusion, by removing it and the Fusion Material of a Fusion monster in my Extra Deck I can Fusion Summon the selected Fusion monster," a vortex appeared behind Kazuki and the spirits of Winged Kuriboh and Kuriboh were sucked in.

The vortex began to spark and crackled with energy and then something flew out. It was obviously another Kuriboh. Its fur was jet black and it had two tuffs that seemed to form horn like shapes, it had bat like wings and a thin tail. (ATK 1900/DEF 1000)

"Meet my Devil Kuriboh, you've meet his brother Angel Kuriboh," Kazuki said. "His effect is powerful, not surprisingly considering he's a level six monster, you see for every Kuriboh monster in my Graveyard all your monsters lose 500 attack points times the number which currently stands at two."

A red aura surrounded Frostosaurus who cried out in pain as Devil Kuriboh seemed to chuckle. (ATK 2600-1600/DEF 1500)

"I'm not done yet!" Kazuki declared. "I call out Booster Kuriboh!" another floating ball of fur appeared. This one was wearing a small jet back and a pair of aviator's goggles. (ATK 1300/DEF 800)

"Devil Kuriboh attack his Frostosaurus with Flames of Corruption!" the wicked looking Kuriboh was surrounded by black flames, which moments later flew at the frozen Dinosaur burning it to ashes.

**(Kazuki: 5400) ---- (Lucian: 5400)**

"Booster Kuriboh attack him directly!" the jet pack wearing Fiend rocketed forward and slammed into Lucian knocking him backwards.

**(Kazuki: 5400) ---- (Lucian: 4100)**

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Kazuki grinned.

Lucian clutched where he'd been struck. _"Damn it!" _he snarled mentally. _"How am I getting beat by these wimps?"_

He drew and chuckled. "Ok pansy prepare for some pain!"

"I summon Babycerasaurus," a small Dinosaur with green scales and a frilled collar, wearing the bottom of an eggshell like a diaper jumped onto the field with a squeak. (ATK 500-0/DEF 500)

"Hey, he's kind of cute, but he doesn't really seem like the kind of monster you'd use?" Kazuki chuckled.

"No not normally but combined with this next card he makes a deadly combo, reveal face down card Torrential Tribute!" the Trap card flipped open and geysers of water fired out of it crushing all the monsters on the field. "Since a Summoning just occurred this Trap card destroys every on the field."

"Ok that seemed kind of pointless, because you've used up your Normal Summon for this turn and I can Summon something to attack you directly," Kazuki pointed out.

"Heh, you'd think that but like I said my Babycerasaurus forms only on part of a deadly combo, Torrential Tribute forming the next card and my Sabersaurus, you see when Babycerasaurus is destroyed by card effect and goes to the Graveyard I can Special Summon a level four or lower Dinosaur from my Deck, so meet Sabersaurus!" where the baby Dinosaur had once been appeared a large red scaled Dinosaur with a sharp blade at the end of its tail. (ATK 1900/DEF 500)

"Oh a member of the 1900 club, that's bad," Kazuki gasped.

"You're damn right it is, for you Sabersaurus attack him directly!" the newly Summoned Dinosaur snorted then charged forward.

Kazuki jumped out of the way of getting tackled but was unable to avoid the ancient creature's tail slamming into him, causing him to cry out and be sent flying.

**(Kazuki: 3500) ---- (Lucian: 4100)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Lucian chuckled. "But I wonder will you even be able to stand after an attack like that?"

Kazuki groaned. _"Ugh, at this rate I won't be able to keep my promise to dad,"_ he thought.

The image of a man with messy dark blue hair appeared before him. _"Kazuki I'm sorry but I have to go away for a while, please look after your mother for me and try to discover what it means to be a great duelist?"_ the man asked.

Kazuki stood up clutching his side. "Sorry dad I couldn't look after mom, and I won't be able to discover what it means to be a great duelist," he whispered.

"_Kazuki!"_ a voice shouted in his head.

Kazuki looked around but saw no one, but he noticed he was standing in the center of a small town, really small, most of the buildings only came up to his shoulder. A Kuriboh appeared before him, this one was dressed in a red cape with a golden crown top its head, in its hand it held a sceptre topped with a huge gem.

"Kuriboh King is that you?" Kazuki asked.

"_Yes Kazuki, the monsters in your Deck and I thought you needed a little pep talk,"_ the regal Fiend told him.

"I passed out from the pain didn't I?" Kazuki asked.

"_Yes boy you did, and it may be a good thing,"_ Kuriboh King said. _"Kazuki you've already lived up to what your father wanted."_

"But I couldn't protect mom, and I don't know what it means to be a great duelist," Kazuki said sadly. The ball of fur floated over and whacked him on the head.

"Hey that way unnecessary!" he shouted angrily.

"_No it was necessary, Kazuki there is no right or wrong way to be a great duelist, but to me and your other monsters you're the absolute best duelist there is, you respect and care for your cards and your mother passing away was far beyond your control you cared for her until her last breath!"_

"You know I think you're right, thank you Kuriboh King hopefully next time we get to talk it'll be under better circumstances!" Kazuki shouted.

Back in the auditorium Kazuki had just gotten to his feet. "Too bad," Lucian smirked. "Another few moments and I would've won by default!"

Kazuki dusked himself off and chuckled. "Wouldn't that be boring, the best part about winning his doing it all on your own!" the Kuriboh duelist shouted pulling the top card off his Deck.

"I activate Call of the Haunted and I'll use it to revive my Booster Kuriboh!" the rocket pack wearing Fiend burst out of the ground looking angrily at Lucian.

"Huh, why'd you Summon him not your Devil Kuriboh?" the Dinosaur duelist asked.

"Well because Devil Kuriboh is a Nomi monster, although what that stands for I've never quiet been able to figure out," Kazuki explained.

"Now I summon Winged Kuriboh Chanter," another angelic Kuriboh floated onto the field. It held a staff topped with a large red gem. (ATK 1500/DEF 600)

"This guy has a handy effect, when a Kuriboh monster attacks you aren't allowed to activate any Spell or Trap card," Kazuki explained and Lucian gasped.

"Now I activate my Booster Kuriboh's effect," Booster Kuriboh took its jet pack and tossed it to Winged Kuriboh Chant who slipped it on. (ATK 1500-2800/DEF 600) "Thanks my Booster Kuriboh I can increase the attack points of one Kuriboh monster by 1300 until the End Phase, in exchange he can't attack."

"Winged Kuriboh Chant attack Sabersaurus with Kuriboh Spell!" the staff wielding monster held up its weapon and unleashed a burst of red energy vaporizing the Dinosaur.

**(Kazuki: 3500) ---- (Lucian: 3200)**

"Now I'll set a card face down then, turn end," Kazuki said as Winged Kuriboh Chanter tossed the jet pack back. (ATK 2800-1500/DEF 600)

Lucian drew and his eyes lit up. "Perfect I activate my face down card my Call of the Haunted!" the ground exploded and Sabersaurus burst out.

"Huh, you brought back your Sabersaurus, but why not your Frostosaurus?" Kazuki questioned.

"In actuality it wouldn't have mattered because I'm activating my Big Evolution Pill!" Sabersaurus dissolved into grains of light that were sucked into the Spell card.

"This powerful Spell card will remain face up on the field for three of your turns, not like the duel will be lasting that long, but as long as it remains face up Dinosaur monsters can be Advanced Summoned without releases!" Lucian cackled.

"So say hello to one of my ultimate beasts, my Ultimate Tyranno," the Spell card began to glow and a huge Dinosaur appeared on the field. Its hide was jet black and covered with numerous spikes, it threw back its head and let loose and ear splitting roar. (ATK 3000/DEF 2200)

"Holy crap, that thing is so big I almost didn't see it!" Kazuki shouted. "And I know your monster's effect, if it's in attack mode and the beginning of your Battle Phase it has to attack every monster I have."

"You heard the man!" Lucian cried. "Tyranno attack with Tail Smash!" the huge Dinosaur roared and spun around preparing to hit Kazuki's monsters with its tail.

"Reveal face down card!" Kazuki shouted as the Dinosaur's tail smashed into his monsters.

**(Kazuki: 300) ---- (Lucian: 3200)**

When the dust or whatever it was settled Lucian couldn't help but gasp. "How'd your damn fur balls survive?"

"I activated my face down card Kuri-Barrier, which protected all Kuriboh monsters from destruction until the End Phase, so both my monsters survived the attack," the blue haired boy explained.

"Fine I'll end my turn," Lucian growled.

"I activate Lightwave Tuning, which will turn my level four, Winged Kuriboh Chanter into a Tuner monster!" the angelic monster began to glow for a second.

"Now I tune my level four, Winged Kuriboh Chanter with my level three, Booster Kuriboh…."

"_When the plight of the weak reaches his ears, his surging power will awaken to protect those without power! Synchro Summon, charge into battle, Kuriboh King!"_

Winged Kuriboh Chanter cast a spell turning itself into four green rings that surrounded the backpack wearing Kuriboh turning it into framework.

From the burst of light appeared the monster Kazuki had been talking to earlier. It spun its sceptre around and glared angrily at Lucian. (ATK 2600/DEF 2400)

"Now I activate his special effect and Special Summon one level four or lower Fiend or Fairy type monster from my hand or Graveyard, so meet my Explosive Kuriboh!" the regal Fiend raised his sceptre and a crimson portal formed. From it jumped a Kuriboh whose fur was black and in its hands was a bomb with a lit fuse. (ATK 1100/DEF 800)

"Go, Explosive Kuriboh attack his Tyranno with Kuri-Bomb!" the smaller monster nodded and jumped forward slamming into the Dinosaur causing a massive explosion.

When the smoke cleared both monsters were gone. "Hey what in the hell just happened?" Lucian demanded angrily.

"Have you ever heard of Exploder Dragon?" Kazuki asked and Lucian nodded. "Well Explosive Kuriboh is a Kuriboh version of that monster."

"Kuriboh King attack him directly with Royal Spell!" the royal Kuriboh fired a bolt of energy that struck Lucian causing him to skid back.

**(Kazuki: 300) ---- (Lucian: 600)**

"Ok I'll end my turn," Kazuki said with a grin.

Lucian drew and gasped. "I can't do anything," he moaned. "I'll end my turn."

Kazuki drew but didn't bother to look at what he drew. "Kuriboh King end it!" the Fiend monarch rushed forward and whacked Lucian on the head with his sceptre.

**(Kazuki: 300) ---- (Lucian: 0)**

The darkness faded and Lucian groaned and collapsed. "Whoa I hope Kuriboh King didn't hit him too hard," Kazuki said as he rushed over to his fallen opponent.

A moment later Lucian groaned again and stood up, looking around in confusion. "Ugh what happened, how'd I get in the school?" he asked.

"I'm guessing the mysterious cloaked guy that attacked Josh beat you and your friends and put some king of brainwashing spell on you guys, well I think I just saved you," Kazuki said.

"Well…thanks I guess," Lucian muttered almost too quiet to hear.

Kazuki grinned. "I'll chalk that up to a minor head injury, and we should get moving the others may need our help, and I'm sure Josh will be happy to know you're alright."

As the two began to walk out the room Kazuki pulled something out of his pocket. It was a postcard that showed a tropical local. On the back in very neat hand writing it said 'Never give up hope, because someone is always watching over you."

Kazuki smiled and put the card back in his pocket. _"I know I'll see you someday dad,"_ he thought.

**Reina: Well folks this'll be Kazuki's last duel of this arch!**

**Kazuki: But don't worry fan I may or may not have, I'll be back next arch.**

**Zeke: With a brand new Deck and he'll finally be reunited with his father.**

**Melissa: Zeke's up next and we'll be getting to see his Archfiends again.**

**Rob: Don't miss Warrior's of Darkness.**

**Josh: Well this should be interesting.**

**Original Cards**

Winged Kuriboh Archer

Light | Level 4 | Fairy/Effect | 1400/900 | If you control another 'Kuriboh' monster when this card destroys one of your opponents monsters by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, this card may attack again.

Kuriboh Soul Shard

Image: A regular Kuriboh holding a sparking gem.

| Equip Spell | You can only equip this to a 'Kuriboh' monster. It gains 500 attack and defense points, and if this card is sent to the Graveyard you can Special Summon a level four or lower 'Kuriboh' monster from your Deck.

Silver Kuriboh

Dark | Level 5 | Fiend/Effect | ?/1200 | This card can only be Advanced Summoned by releasing a Kuriboh monster. This card's original attack points are equal to the original attack points of the 'Kuriboh' monster used to Advance Summon this card plus the released monster's level x200 is added to this card's attack points.

Professor Kuriboh

Dark | Level 3 | Fiend/Effect | 1200/700 | As long as this card remains face up on the field decrease the attack and defense points of all your opponent's monster by 200 times the number of 'Kuriboh' monsters in your Graveyard.

Parallel Fusion

Image: Stardust Dragon and Junk Warrior flying into a vortex and Surging Dragon Knight Dragoequites appearing on the other side.

| Spell | Remove this card and the Fusion Materials listed on a Fusion monster in your Extra Deck from play to Special Summon the selected Fusion monster. (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon.)

Devil Kuriboh

Dark | Level 6 | Fiend/Fusion/Effect | 1900/1000 | Kuriboh + Winged Kuriboh. This monster cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. As long as this card remains face up on the field decrease the attack points of all of your opponent's monsters by 500 times the number of 'Kuriboh' monsters in your Graveyard.

Booster Kuriboh

Dark | Level 3 | Fiend/Effect | 1300/800 | Once you may increase the attack points of one 'Kuriboh' monster on your side of the field by 1300 until the End Phase. (This card cannot declare an attack the turn you activated this effect.)

Winged Kuriboh Chanter

Light | Level 4 | Fiend/Effect | 1500/600 | When a 'Kuriboh' monster you control attacks your opponent may not activate any Spell or Trap cards until the end of the Damage Step.

Kuri-Barrier

Image: Kuriboh King casting a spell and forming a barrier in front of himself and a Winged Kuriboh.

| Trap | Until the End Phase of this turn all 'Kuriboh' monsters cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects.

Kuriboh King

Dark | Level 7 | Fiend/Synchro/Effect | 2600/2400 | 1 Kuriboh Tuner + one or more Fiend or Fairy monsters. One per turn you may Special Summon a Fiend or Fairy type monster from your hand or Graveyard. Once per turn if a 'Kuriboh' monster you control would be destroyed by battle you may negate that monster's destruction.

Explosive Kuriboh

Dark | Level 3 | Fiend/Effect | 1100/800 | When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard destroy the monster the monster that destroyed it. When this card is attacking battle damage you receive from a battle involving this card is reduced to zero.


	16. Ch16: Warriors of Darkness

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Sixteen: Warriors of Darkness

While Kazuki was just bringing his duel to a close Zeke was walking down a hallway. This was the same time Reina, Josh and Vincent were walking down, but he was much farther back.

"Hmmm I get the feeling I'm being watched," he muttered. He looked in every directions but didn't see anyone.

The Principal's office

The cloaked man chuckled. "Well it seems that Mr. Kessler is on to use, to some degree."

"Sir wasn't Morton supposed to handle him?" Sonia asked.

"Yes but I instructed him to wait away from where Zeke awoke," the cloaked man replied.

"If you don't mind my asking sir why, what about him interests you?" Sonia questioned.

"It's his parents that interest me, they were both Dark Signers so some of the energy of the Earthbound Immortals may or may not have remained within them, even after they were brought back to life, so if that is the case Zeke Kessler would hold a fair amount of dark energy within him," the cloaked man answered.

Sonia nodded. "Oh I understand, if we could harvest that energy we could easily awaken them," she said. "Sir I have another question."

"What is it Sonia," the cloaked man asked.

"Well sir why don't you take the souls of the loser of the Darkness Games, wouldn't that gain us more energy to feed to the three beasts?" Sonia inquired.

"Yes but the Darkness Games I am capable of creating while the ritual is going on are too weak to do anything more than make card effects and attacks real," the cloaked man muttered.

The hallway

Zeke kept walking but then suddenly stopped. "Ok whoever is up ahead come out….now!" he ordered.

Stepping from the shadows was Morton Gothwalt. "Hello Kessler, how are you doing?" he asked sounding partially casual.

"I'm fine now let me by," Zeke told him.

"What hoping to save your girlfriend from losing a Darkness Game, too bad she's probably already been defeated," Morton chuckled.

"Morton if the person dueling her is one of Josh's flunkies like you, well she won't have a problem crushing them," Zeke smirked. "I only know four people who can defeat her and they would be her parents, Josh himself and Leo."

"Well it isn't one of Josh's group, no it's someone much more powerful," Morton snickered. "And like I said she's probably losing badly."

"I'm still doubtful now get out of my away," Zeke snapped.

"No, my orders are to defeat you in a duel," Morton said lifting up his arm and revealing his Duel Disk.

"Really, I'm not sure you could do much, I mean Reina crushed you," Zeke sneered.

Morton snarled. "She attacked me with my own monster, which is the lowest thing a player can do to another!"

"Ha, it was a perfectly legal move, her mother taught her stuff like that because well she had no qualms about attacking some with their own monster," Zeke laughed.

"Shut up and duel!" Morton snarled activating his Duel Disk.

"Gladly," Zeke smirked.

**(Zeke: 8000) ---- (Morton: 8000)**

While Zeke was about to begin his duel with Morton, Reina, Josh and Vincent were continuing their walk towards the Principal's office, but Vincent seemed to be walking on auto-pilot.

"Hey Vincent, is something up?" Reina asked.

The white haired teenager shook his head to clear away the haze that seemed to have enveloped him. "Man I just had the weirdest waking dream," he murmured.

"Do tell," Reina said and Josh merely rolled his eyes.

"Well I sort of dreamed I was at Duel Academy, you know the one in the middle of the Pacific, and I was dressed as Flame Rider and I dueled this guy who used cards based off musicians from bands, they were a Hero archetype," the Dragon and Rider duelist explained.

Reina and Josh both arched an eyebrow and shrugged. "You need to lay off the sugar, it's starting to make you crazy," Josh said.

"Maybe you're right," Vincent muttered.

"I'll make the first move!" Zeke shouted pulling the sixth card off the top of his Deck. "Well looks like I've drawn something I've been hoping to play for a while now."

"I activate the Field Spell, The Ninth Circle of Hell!" the hallway shook violently and then Morton and Zeke seemed to be teleported to a frozen wasteland.

"What the…?" Morton gasped. "Where in the Hell are we?"

"You just answered your own question," replied Zeke. "Like I said, this is The Ninth Circle of Hell, from Dante's epic poem, known as the Divine Comedy, this place is in the first part, Inferno."

"Ok but isn't Hell you know hot?" Morton asked.

"Well most believe that yes, but Dante and I mean a poet not the guy from the video games, he believed Hell was actually cold, and this is the worst place, where those who have betrayed God himself end up, and my Archfiends love this place, for to them this is Pandemonium plus it has other effects we'll get to those later," Zeke explained.

"For now I'll call forth one of the rulers of Pandemonium Infernal Queen Archfiend!" in a burst of black flames emerged a female demon, cloaked in a purple dress with large bat like wings on her back. (ATK 900/DEF 1500)

"Ha, she's the one of the rulers of Pandemonium!" laughed Morton. "She's weak!"

"Everyone thinks that at first, they all learn the same painful lesson soon enough, never mock the Archfiends," Zeke smirked.

"I'll end my turn by setting a card face down, oh and something I should tell you about this wonderful place we're in, so long as an Archfiend monster is on the field it may not be displaced or destroyed," he explained as a card appeared behind the wicked queen.

"That couldn't be a more obvious trap if you tried," Morton snickered as he drew his sixth card.

Just then Infernal Queen shrieked in joy as her hands ignited. (ATK 900-1900/DEF 1500)

"Hey what just happened?" Morton demanded.

"That would be Infernal Queen's effect, she can empower an Archfiend monster by 1000 points during every Standby Phase, and it lasts until the End Phase," Zeke explained with a smirk.

Morton growled. "Eh what am I worried about, and I was so startled by your Field Spell I forgot to do this," he said snapping his fingers.

Due to the change of location it wasn't very noticeable but purple fog seemed to flow from Morton. "This is now officially a Darkness Game," he sneered.

"You think this scares me?" Zeke asked. "Both my parents could start these when they were younger, granted it was because of the Earthbound Immortals, but I'm doubtful anything you can create would any more powerful than those."

"Whatever, I really don't care, I summon Command Knight!" in a burst of fire the female Warrior jumped onto the frozen wasteland. She looked around and shivered, but not because of the cold, it was due to fear. (ATK 1200-1600/DEF 1900)

"Oh wow a Command Knight, I'm really shocked by that move," Zeke chuckled. "Give it up nothing you play will surprise me."

"Oh ya well how about this?" Morton laughed throwing a card into his Duel Disk. A large broad sword crackling with electricity appeared in Command Knight's hands, replacing her old sword. (ATK 1600-2400/DEF 1900)

"A Lightning Blade, not exactly that surprising," Zeke muttered. "I know what it does, it'll increase the attack points of your Command Knight by 800 and decrease the attack points of all Water attribute monsters by 500, but that isn't an inconvenience to me because I only have one Water monster."

"Shut up!" Morton snarled. "You act so high and might, Kendra mentioned you were like this you're such a pompous ass!"

"I know I can be, but only to scrubs like you, who seem to think you're the best thing to hit the dueling world since holographic technology," Zeke snapped.

"Command Knight kill his damn queen!" the Knight let loose a battle cry and jumped at the wicked monarch.

"Reverse card open!" Zeke exclaimed. "Bark of Dark Ruler, now I can pay Life Points in multiples of 100 and decrease your monster's attack points by however many points I paid, I'll pay 600!"

**(Zeke: 7400) ---- (Morton: 8000)**

Infernal Queen let loose a loud roar that slammed into Command Knight, causing the Warrior's resolved to falter. (ATK 2400-1800/DEF 1900) The wicked monarch fired two blasts of dark flames from her hands striking the Warrior and burning her to a crisp.

**(Zeke: 7400) ---- (Morton: 7900)**

"That was stupid," Morton smirked. "That cost you six times what it cost me!"

"In the short run yes, in the long run, we'll have to see," Zeke said.

"Whatever I'll end my turn with a face down card," Morton scoffed.

"I'll choose to empower my Queen obviously," the wicked ruler laughed as the flames on her hands reignited.

"Infernal Queen strike him directly Wicked Fires!" the Fiendish monarch raised her bony hands and fired a blast of red hot flames.

"I'll reveal my own face down card, Sakuretsu Armor!" the deadly looking creature appeared and jumped at Infernal Queen, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

The icy ground began to tremble and six pillars of ice burst out of the frozen ground. They were marked with the numbers from one to six. "Ok time to activate the final effect of The Ninth Circle!" Zeke declared. "As you probably know the Archfiends, at least the chess piece based ones have a common special ability."

"Yes I believe most Archfiend duelists refer to it as Hell Roulette," Morton muttered.

"Yes and well since we're now literally in Hell itself that power is even stronger," Zeke began to explain. "You see under normal circumstances Infernal Queens number would be two or five, but thanks to The Ninth Circle I can forfeit her roll and the Field Spell rolls for her, the numbers it has available are one, three and five," a flame appeared above the pillar marked one.

"Now go Roulette of the Ninth Circle!" the flame began to move along, quickly at first then it slowed down, finally it stopped on three. "Oh ya looks like your Trap card is negated and destroyed!" the mysterious Fiend exploded and Morton cried out as the flames struck him.

**(Zeke: 7400) ---- (Morton: 6000)**

"Ok I'll set a card face down then, turn end," Zeke said.

Morton drew. "Once again I choose to empower my Queen!" the silver haired teen shouted.

"Damn it I have to get her off the field," Morton growled.

"I summon Evocator Chevalier!" in a burst of flames appeared a man in crimson armor holding a scimitar. (ATK 1900/DEF 900)

"Now I'll equip him with Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!" the burning Warrior's sword was replaced with katana that glowed with a strange energy. (ATK 1900-2700/DEF 900) "As you can see it gives him an extra 800 attack points, it also has another effect but we'll get to that later."

"Chevalier attack his Chevalier with Burning Fusion Blade!" the Warrior jumped into the air and brought his weapon down upon the Fiendish monarch cutting her down.

**(Zeke: 6600) ---- (Morton: 6000)**

"Heh, I'll end my turn with a face down card," Morton sneered.

Zeke drew and grinned. "I activate Graceful Charity!" no angel appeared and Zeke looked around somewhat confused. "Hmm guess I shouldn't be that surprised," he muttered before pulling three cards off is Deck then dropping two into the Graveyard.

"Now I'll activate my face down card Archfiend's Roar and I'll use it to call back Darkbishop Archfiend!" the ground began to shake and then in a burst of stagnant water another Fiend appeared. This one was dressed in a dark blue cloak and holding a skull topped staff. (ATK 300/DEF 1400)

**(Zeke: 6100) ---- (Morton: 6000)**

"Ha, what was the point of that?" Morton laughed. "I know you can't release your Darkbishop because of your Archfiend's Roar."

"Nope but I can play this, Falling Down!" a dark aura began to cover the burning Warrior, his eyes glazed over and he walked over to Zeke's side of the field. "Now since I control an Archfiend monster I get your Chevalier and I'll take 800 points of damage during each of your Standby Phases, but that'll never happen because goodbye Chevalier and hello Skull Archfiend of Lightning!" the Warrior was struck by a bolt of lightning and in his place appeared the wicked parody of the Summoned Skull. (ATK 2500/DEF 1200)

"Go my Archfiends double direct attack him!" Skull Archfiend of Lightning raised its hands and fired a bolt of electricity striking Morton and knocking him off his feet. Darkbishop fired a blast of dirty water from its staff.

**(Zeke: 6100) ---- (Morton: 3200)**

"Now I'll end my turn and bit Darkbishop adieu," Darkbishop bowed to Zeke before shattering into pixels.

Morton growled and drew his next card. He saw what he drew and a huge grin broke out across his face.

"Two cards face down and that's all I can do," he grinned.

Zeke drew and scowled. _"Damn I have the worst hand right down, oh well I'll have to make the best of it,"_ he thought.

"I'll set a card face down then have Skull Archfiend attack your directly with Dark Lightning!" the Archfiend fired another burst of electricity that headed straight for Morton.

"Ha, I tricked you!" Morton shouted as his face down flipped up. "Reveal, Rainbow Life!" a wall of multicoloured energy appeared and absorbed the attack.

**(Zeke: 6100) ---- (Morton: 5700)**

"Huh, what just happened?" Zeke asked.

"That would be my Rainbow Life Trap card, you see my discarding one card all Life Points damage for this turn is turned into Life Points gain," Morton snickered as he slid a card into his Graveyard.

"Well nothing I can do, so turn end," Zeke sighed.

"Ha, well now it's time to bring back one of my strongest monsters!" Morton shouted as his face down card flipped open. "I activate Birthright and now I can revive a Normal monster from my Graveyard!" Morton cried.

"So I'm not afraid of your Chevalier," Zeke smirked.

"I'm not bringing back my Chevalier, no I'm bringing back the guy I discarded for Rainbow Life, meet Phoenix Gearfried!" Morton laughed as a huge form pulled itself out of the ground.

It was a knight donned in white and red armor that made him look almost robotic, in his hand he held a fancy looking broadsword and wore a flaming cape on his back. (ATK 2800/DEF 2200)

"Ugh, I hate that guy," Zeke spat.

Zeke hated all Gemini monsters because to him they had cost him the win in the first tournament he'd taken place in as a kid. His opponent in the final round had used a Gemini Equip Spell Deck and managed to get Phoenix Gearfried out early and basically used it to counter all of his moves.

"Now I'll activate Cold Wave!" a chilling wind blew over the field freezing Zeke's face down card. "Now neither of us can play any Spell or Trap cards until my next turn."

"Gearfried smite his Archfiend with Blazing Sword!" Gearfried's sword ignited and he sprung forward and cleaved the winged demon in half.

**(Zeke: 5800) ---- (Morton: 5700)**

"I'll end my turn," Morton sneered.

Zeke drew and scowled. "I'll set a monster and then end my turn."

"Looks like your running out of moves," Morton snickered. "Well I'm not, I Gemini Summon Gearfried so he's now treated as an effect monster, then I'll equip him with Fairy Meteor Crush," Gearfried began to glow then a burning red aura appeared around his sword.

"Now attack his face down monster!" Morton commanded. His monster charged forward and cleaved the face down monster in two. It was a familiar ruler of the Archfiends.

**(Zeke: 4500) ---- (Morton: 5700)**

"I discard Desrook Archfiend to revive to revive Terrorking!" Terrorking Archfiend burst out of the frozen ground and snarled at Morton. (ATK 2000/DEF 1500)

"Like it'll matter I end my turn," Morton scoffed.

"Oh but it will matter Morton," Zeke smirked. "I activate Offerings to the Archfiends!" he shouted.

"Since you activated a Spell card I can Special Summon a Gemini monster from my Graveyard so welcome back Evocator Chevalier!" the crimson armored Warrior appeared in a burst of flames.

"This is a pretty rare Archfiend support card but helpful, you see if I control just one of three specific monsters I can Special Summon any Archfiend monster from my Deck or Graveyard, of course if it requires a release I can remove those from the Graveyard, so I remove Darkbishop and Desrook oh and Terrorking is one of them, so say hello to Archfiend Gargoyle!" in a burst of darkness a hulking creature appeared. Its skin looked like it was made of stone and its mouth was full of razor sharp teeth, like all Archfiends two large bat like wings grew from the beast's back. (ATK 2900/DEF 1800)

"Of course since I played my Offerings to the Archfiends and summoned a level six or higher I can't enter my Battle Phase to I'll activate this, Pot of Greed!" the grinning jar appeared and Zeke pulled two cards off the top of his Deck.

"Now I'll end my turn," he said with a smirk.

"Gearfried attack his Terrorking with Blazing Sword!" the taller Warrior charged at the fiendish king.

"Sorry Morton but as long as Archfiend Gargoyle remains face up on the field if you select an Archfiend monster as a target for anything I can redirect it to him," Phoenix Gearfried was about to slice Terrorking in two when Archfiend Gargoyle pounced on him tearing him to shreds.

**(Zeke: 4500) ---- (Morton: 5600)**

Morton snarled and slid a card into his Spell and Trap zone. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the Pot of Greed appeared in the center of the field and both duelists drew three times.

"Now I'll set a monster and one card face down then switch my Chevalier into defense mode and end my turn," he said.

"Gargoyle maul his Chevalier!" the stone demon pounced on the hapless Warrior and tore him to pieces.

"Terrorking destroy his face down monster with your Locust Storm Barrage!" the kingly Fiend's chest burst open and the swarm of bugs devoured a woman dressed in black holding an energy sword.

"Ha, sucker your king is about to take a trip to the Different Dimension, because he just killed my D.D. Warrior Lady!" Morton laughed, but after about five seconds nothing happened.

"Hey what's going on?" he demanded.

"Oh something I forgot to mention, Terrorking must be related to Dark Ruler Ha Des to some degree because you see the effects of any monsters he destroys are negated like your Warrior Lady's," Zeke chuckled and Morton's face turned bright red with rage.

"I'll end my turn," the silver haired teen said.

Morton drew and smirked. "I set a monster and another card face down and then I'll end my turn."

"Whatever you have planned isn't going to work, Terrorking destroy his face down monster!" just as Terrorking was about to launch his attack a wall of energy appeared between it and Zeke's monsters.

"Reveal face down card Mirror Force!" much to Zeke's horror the swarm of insects crashed into the wall and then was flung back in the form of a burst of energy that incinerated his two monsters.

"Ack how could I fall for such an obvious trap," Zeke gasped.

"I'll summon Archfiend Soldier and set a card face down and end my turn," the infernal shock trooper jumped onto the field his sword at the ready. (ATK 1900/DEF 1500)

"I'll flip my face down monster face up," the Warrior that appeared looked kind of like D.D. Warrior Lady, she had blonde hair and wore a pair of knee high green boots and a wide brimmed brown hat. (ATK 1100/DEF 1200) "Meet Warrior Lady of the Wasteland and before you point out that she's too weak I'll activate Hidden Armory and all I have to do is discard the top card on my Deck then I get to take my Fusion Sword back," Morton dropped the top card on his Deck into the Graveyard and another fell out of it.

"Now I'll equip it to my Warrior Lady!" the glowing katana appeared in the female Warrior's hands. (ATK 1100-1900/DEF 1200)

"Attack his monster with Blade of the Wastelands!" the female Warrior charged forward and swung her weapon at the same time as the wicked Soldier. They both exploded in a burst of pixels but Morton just smirked.

"I activate my Warrior Ladies effect and now I can Special Summon an Earth attribute Warrior type monster from my Deck, and I'll choose my Hero Kid!" in a burst of light appeared a child in odd looking red and white armor with a gumdrop shaped glass helmet over his head and rocket boosters on his feet. (ATK 300/DEF 600)

"Oh and when this little guy is Special Summoned I get to Special Summon any other Hero Kids in my Deck I'll call out the other two," in two more flashes of light two more Hero Kids appeared next to their brother.

"Hero Kids attack him attack him directly with Booster Kick!" the three young Warriors flew at Zeke and each hit with a kick to the stomach causing him to gasp and skid backwards.

**(Zeke: 3600) ---- (Morton: 5600)**

"Now I'll end my turn," Morton smirked.

Zeke drew and grinned. "I activate my face down card another copy of Archfiend's Roar and Terrorking is making his return appearance!" Terrorking burst out of the ground and snarled at Morton.

**(Zeke: 3100) ---- (Morton: 5600)**

"Now I summon Flare Resonator!" in a burst of flames a monster that looked just like Dark Resonator appeared, the only difference as a ball of flames was erupting from this Fiend's back. (ATK 300/DEF 1300)

"Now I tune my level three, Flare Resonator and my level four, Terrorking Archfiend….," he began.

"_The true king of hell charges straight into battle, his very presence makes his enemies quake in terror! Synchro Summon and incinerate Chaos King Archfiend!"_

Flare Resonator banged the tuning fork with the drumstick and became three green rings that surrounded Terrorking. Instead of a burst of light there was an explosion of flames.

The odd looking Fiend ruler slowly floated down in front of Zeke looking at his surroundings. (ATK 2600/DEF 2600)

"Now Flare Resonator's effect activates and my Chaos King gains 300 attack points!" the flames coming from Chaos King's blades began to burn much brighter. (ATK 2600-2900/DEF 2600)

"Chaos King attack one of his Hero Kids with Chaotic Slash!" the gaunt Fiend charged forward towards the hapless Warrior child. (ATK 300=600/DEF 600=300) The wicked monarch cleaved the child in two and then jumped back to Zeke's side.

**(Zeke: 3100) ---- (Morton: 3300)**

"Well I'm just going to end my turn," Zeke smirked.

"Smirk all you want you're going to lose anyway, because I activate my face down Call of the Haunted and I'll revive my lost Hero Kid," the slain child appeared and looked terrified at Chaos King Archfiend.

"Now I release all three of them to call out my ultimate monster!" the three children vanished and black clouds began to swirl above the two duelist.

"Oh crap I only know of one Warrior that can be summoned by this means," Zeke gasped.

"Yes I call forth the one the only Gilford the Lightning!" several bolts of lightning slammed into the ground and with them appeared a man in silver armor with an orange cape on along with a strange looking helmet and a sword on his back. (ATK 2800/DEF 1400) "As you doubtless know since I call out Gilford this way every monster on your side dies!" Gilford unsheathed the sword on his back and swung it in a wide arc firing a huge wave of electricity.

It struck Chaos King causing him to let loose an inhuman scream before he shattered into a million pixels. "Oh this is going to hurt," Zeke muttered.

"Gilford attack him directly with Cerulean Surge!" Gilford swung his sword again firing another blast of lightning. It struck Zeke causing him to scream and fly backwards.

**(Zeke: 300) ---- (Morton: 3300)**

Zeke lay on the ground convulsing in pain. "Heh, if you can't get back up in a minute you lose," Morton chuckled.

Zeke didn't move for a moment, then he let out a groan and slowly and much to Morton's amazement stood up. "Like I'd let you beat me by forfeit, if I'm going to lose I'll go down fighting!" he declared.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Morton said looking extremely surprised.

Zeke drew and his face lit up. "Yes I finally drew him, come forth Warrior of Zera!" a dark skinned man wearing a green helmet with two red horn and holding a fiendish looking sword stepped onto the field and looked around fearfully. (ATK 1600/DEF 1600)

"How's he going to help you?" Morton asked.

"For someone who uses Warrior's I'm surprised you've never heard of this guy," Zeke answered. "You see Warrior of Zera constant fights the Archfiends but they know that deep down he has an amazing power that could be used for evil or good, so they seek to bring him to their side and I'm about do just that, because as you might remember The Ninth Circle of Hell is treated as Pandemonium, so I release Warrior of Zera to call out Mazera DeVille!"

Warrior of Zera began to sweat and dropped his sword and clutched his chest as if in pain. He threw back his head and cried out as two huge green wings sprouted from his back, he began to grow taller as a tail sprouted from his back and his hands and feet turned into claws. (ATK 2800/DEF 2300)

Mazera laughed and flew forward and grabbed the cards in Morton's hand and dropped them into the Graveyard. Morton was about to say something but Zeke cut him off. "It's Mazera's effect since Pandemonium is on my side of the field when he was Special Summoned you lose three random cards in your hand, and you only had three," he explained.

"Now I've got something, a small tale if you will that goes along with my three Fiendish monarchs of Pandemonium," Zeke began to Morton said nothing. "You see legend has it that the Fiends of Dark World once inhabited Pandemonium and but Chaos King the ruler at the time felt it should be theirs,"

"So he lead the charge having developed an amazing power, the power to weaken his opponent's offensive strength, and because of that the Dark World Fiends were drive out and the Archfiends made Pandemonium their home, one day a the Archfiend General brought a capture human who'd been slaying the Archfiends, to Chaos King, he saw a great power within Warrior of Zera and using some of his own power forced him to become Mazera DeVille,"

"For years Chaos King trained Mazera to be a powerful warrior for the Fiends, but one day after a hard fought battle Mazera murdered Chaos King and declared himself ruler of the Archfiends, soon after that another Fiend stepped forward and become Mazera's advisor, but the advisor soon became as greedy for power as his master and he murdered Mazera and became Terrorking Archfiend," he finished.

"Ok what was the point of that?" Morton asked.

"No point really," Zeke shrugged. "Just a tale I tell to those who challenge me enough to make me use my two stronger Fiend monarchs, now I activate Monster Reborn and revive my Chaos King!" from the ankh which had turned black appeared the masked Fiend.

"Now I activate my face down, which is my own copy of Call of the Haunted and with it I revive Terrorking!" Terrorking burst out of the ground and looked at his two precursors.

"Chaos King lead the charge and get rid of Gilford!" the masked ruler charged the lightning wielding Warrior. (ATK 2800=1400/DEF 1400=2800) Gilford tried to block but was cut down by the blade armed Fiend.

**(Zeke: 300) ---- (Morton: 2100)**

"Wait why'd you summon Terrorking back?" Morton asked.

"I really don't know I've just never had these three on the field all at the same time before," Zeke mused. "Mazera end this with your Dark Zone Claw!" dark energy began to crackle around Mazera's hand and he flew and slashed Morton sending the boy flying back.

**(Zeke: 300) ---- (Morton: 0)**

Zeke collapsed to one knee and as the holograms faded he began to pant. _"Man I was on auto-pilot there this guy was tougher than I suspected,"_ he thought.

"What happened to me," Morton groaned as he stood up. "Where am I?"

"You're at Duel Academy and we need to get moving I have a feeling we may be needed," Zeke said standing up and leaning against the wall.

"Can you even walk?" Morton asked. "You look like you've gone a few rounds in a boxing ring."

"I'll be fine," Zeke replied. He stopped leaning against the wall and collapsed to one knee again. "Ok maybe not, maybe that attack from your Gilford hurt me more than I suspected."

Morton helped Zeke to his feet then looped an arm under the Fiend duelist's shoulder. "I'll help you walk, I need to repay you for snapping me out of that mind control," he muttered.

The two began to walk down the hall. _"I have a really bad feeling,"_ Zeke thought.

The Principal's office

The cloaked man sighed. "Looks like he has no residual Dark Signer energy, oh well he emitted more Duel Energy than anyone so far."

"Sir, those three are almost here," Sonia said looking into a globe of dark energy that was projecting an image of Reina, Josh and Vincent walking down the hall towards the Principal's office.

"No matter, Miss Yoshiro is already in the middle of her duel and we only need a tiny amount of energy to complete the ritual," the cloaked man chuckled.

**Zeke: Well another one of Josh's brainwashed flunkies goes down.**

**Rob: That only leaves Ami left.**

**Reina: Mel could be in trouble Ami was a tough opponent for Rob.**

**Melissa: Don't miss Nature's Fury.**

**Josh: That title doesn't bode well for Melissa.**

**Reina: Oh and if you haven't already done so check out YuGiOh! GX: Duel Academy Stories, by The Duelist of Dawn, dueling fans and music fans will defiantly get a kick out of it.**

**Original Cards**

The Ninth Circle of Hell

Image: A frozen wasteland with a large evil looking figure in the background.

| Field Spell | Neither player has to pay Life Points during the Standby Phase for 'Archfiend' monsters. This card's name is treated as Pandemonium while it's face up on the field. While you control an 'Archfiend' monster this card cannot be destroyed and your opponent may not activate or set another Field Spell card. If an 'Archfiend' monster you control would be targeted by a Spell, Trap or monster effect you may roll a six-sided die. If the result is one, three, or five you may negate and destroy the card. (If the 'Archfiend' monster targeted has its own die rolling effect you must negate the activation of that effect to use this one.)

Offerings to the Archfiends

Image: Terrorking and Infernal Queen standing in front of an alter that has Breaker the Magical Warrior tied to it.

| Spell | Activate only while you control one of the following, Terrorking Archfiend, Infernal Queen Archfiend, or Imprisoned Queen Archfiend. Special Summon from your Deck or Graveyard an 'Archfiend' monster, if that monster requires a release to be Summoned or set then you may remove 'Archfiend' monsters from your Graveyard as releases. (You may not enter your Battle Phase the turn you activated this card if the monster you Special Summoned was level six or higher.)

Archfiend Gargoyle

Earth | Level 8 | Fiend/Effect | 2900/1800 | If your opponent selects an 'Archfiend' monster you control as the target for a Spell, Trap, monster effect, or as an attack target you may change the target to this card. During the Standby Phase of the turn after this card was destroyed you may remove this card from play to Special Summon as many 'Archfiend' monsters from your Graveyard as possible, so long as their combined levels do not exceed eight.


	17. Ch17: Nature's Fury

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Seventeen: Nature's Fury

While Zeke was dueling Morton, Melissa had just woken up. She looked around herself and seemed to be in one of the class rooms. It had a large stage so it must have been one of the rooms that was used for practical dueling lessons.

"What happened, one second those things are about to attack us then next thing I know I'm waking up in one of the class rooms," she muttered.

The Principal's office

Unlike Zeke, Melissa had no clue she was being watched. "Well she's up should I alert Ami, sir?" Sonia asked the cloaked man.

"Yes, but I have little faith Ms. Yoshiro will be of much use to us, she is relatively new to the game, and unlike the others she had no connection to external forces," the cloaked man muttered.

"Well, Zeke is providing a large amount of Duel Energy, so we should only need a tiny bit to awaken _them_," Sonia said excitedly.

"Yes, we're so close we merely need wait for these last two duels to end and then my ambitions will be close to fruition," the cloaked man chuckled.

"Yes sir, then the world shall change for the better," Sonia said.

The room

Melissa was just about at the door when someone grabbed her shoulder causing her to shriek and jump. "Who is it?" she cried turning around.

Standing behind her was Ami her Duel Disk on her arm. "Hello, Mel, do you mind if I call you Mel?" she asked.

"No that ok," Melissa said. "Wait Ami you're alive but well I don't know anything about Darkness Games, but Reina's told me that the loser of one pays with their life."

"No in the case of the master we were merely convinced by him and Vincent that his cause was greater, and that anything had to be done to achieve is dreams," Ami said as dark fog began to surround the two.

"What's going on?" asked a fearful Melissa.

"Why a Darkness Game, Mel and they only way you're leaving to help your friends is to defeat me in a duel!" Ami declared activating her Duel Disk.

Melissa gulped. Her friends' parents had told her and the others about Darkness Games and they sounded like something most people would rather avoid. And right now was one of those moments Melissa really wished she'd taken up something else other than dueling.

This actually made her remember the first time she'd met Reina almost two years ago.

Almost two years ago

The rain poured down from the heavens soaking everything it touched within minutes. One soaked thing was a girl running full pelt down the street.

Behind her were two large men. "Hey sweetheart come back here we just want to have some fun," one of the men laughed.

Melissa dared to look over her shoulder and instantly regretted it. The two men were catching up and there wasn't a Security officer in sight. "Someone help me please!" she shouted.

Unfortunately since she wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her she didn't notice that she'd started to cross the street and tripped over the curb sending her skidding across the sidewalk on her stomach.

Before she could pick herself up and continue running one of the men stepped on her back, not hard enough to cause any real pain but enough that she couldn't get up. "Please leave me alone," she sobbed.

"But sweetheart we just want to be friends," one of the men chuckled evilly.

"Black Rose Hex!" a blast of energy slammed into the man's back causing him to cry out and fly forward. He slammed into the ground with a dull thud.

"One down, and one to go," someone said.

The other guy turned around and snarled. "Who in the Hell are you?" he growled.

The person he was facing was dressed in a yellow raincoat with the hood pulled up obscuring their face. Sitting beside them was a plastic bag and on their arm was an active Duel Disk, they seemed to be female judging by the shape of their body.

"Me, well I'm not the tooth fairy that's for sure," the person chuckled.

"What the Hell did you do to Paul?" the man asked angrily.

"Technically I didn't do a thing to him, she did," the coat wearing girl said gesturing to the creature floating beside her.

In was a girl in a black and white dress with flowing purple hair, she held a brown staff topped with a blue gem. "She blasted him, and you're next," the coat wearing girl said ominously.

"What do you mean?" the guy asked only for chains to burst out of the ground and ensnare him. "Shadow Spell, a very useful Trap card," the coat wearing girl chuckled.

She walked over to Melissa who looked somewhere between shocked and terrified. "Please don't hurt me," she whimpered.

"Don't worry I only harm those who seek to hurt others," the coat wearing girl said helping Melissa to her feet and handing her and umbrella.

"Who are you?" Melissa asked.

"Well some people call me the Black Rose Witch, but my friends just call me Reina, I'm Reina Fudo nice to meet you," Reina said extending her hand.

"I'm Melissa Yoshiro, and thank you so much those two attacked me while I was on the way home from work, my family just moved to New Domino about a month and a half ago," Melissa said.

"Well I can tell we'll be good friends," Reina grinned despite the fact Melissa couldn't see it.

After that it was true the two girls found out they were going to the same school and Reina introduced Melissa to Zeke and Rob, as well as helped her to become a better duelist because the time she was only a mediocre one.

Melissa clenched her fist. "Reina saved me and I'll save you Ami, even if it kills me," she whispered.

"Enough talk let's duel!" Ami shouted.

"Duel!" the two girls shouted.

**(Melissa: 8000) ---- (Ami: 8000)**

"I'll let first turn honours go to you," Ami offered.

"Sound good to me," Melissa said pulling six cards off the top of her Deck.

"I summon Psy-Knight!" in a burst of electricity a figure appeared. They were dressed in futuristic armor and carrying an energy sword and strange looking shield. (ATK 1700/DEF 1400)

"What the….?" Ami asked. "What is that, I've never seen that Psychic type monster before?"

"Probably not, because they're the Psychic type's first Archetype, which is good because I've been waiting," Melissa grinned. "And this guy has a cool effect, when he's Normal Summoned I can Special Summon a Psychic monster from my Deck, so meet Psy-Commander!" another creature appeared, this one seemed to be a cyborg wearing similar armor to Psy-Knight only this one carried a futuristic gun. (ATK 1600/DEF 1500)

"And as long as he remains face up on the field all Psychic type monsters gain 300 attack and defense points," Psy-Commander began to emit a green aura. (ATK 1700-2000/DEF 1400-1700) (ATK 1600-1900/DEF 1500-1800)

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Melissa said.

"Not a bad start, but I'll do better," Ami grinned. "I summon Naturia Beetle!" the plant matter Insect skittered onto the field. (ATK 400/DEF 1800)

"Aw, I forgot how cute your monsters are," whined Melissa. "I'm not going to enjoy destroying them."

"Well this little guy will be doing the destroying because I activate Rush Reckless," Naturia Beetle began to glow a fiery red. "This not only increases the little guy's attack points by 700 but it causes his attack points to swap with his defense points!" (ATK 400=1800-2500/DEF 1800=400)

"Naturia Beetle attack her Psy-Commander!" the Insect charged forward head butting Melissa's monster, sending it flying back before it shattered and at the same time the aura around Psy-Knight faded. (ATK 2000-1700/DEF 1700-1400)

**(Melissa: 7400) ---- (Ami: 8000)**

"Not bad, but I have only begun to fight," Melissa grinned.

"I'll set a card face down then activate Naturia Forest," the roomed shifted and the girls found themselves in a large wooded area. (ATK 1800=400/DEF 400=1800)

"Now I'll end my turn," Ami said with a smirk.

Melissa drew and grinned. "Perfect, and I know you have some kind of plan with that face down card, otherwise you wouldn't have activated Naturia Forest, so I'll activate my Psy-Knight's other effect and Special Summon Destructotron from my hand!" Psy-Knight swung his sword cutting a hole in fabric of reality.

From it stepped a menacing looking creature. It seemed to be a robot, with four thin legs and a T.V. for a head, showing a sinister face. (ATK 1600/DEF 400)

As the portal closed sparks of electricity hit Melissa and she seethed in pain.

**(Melissa: 6600) ---- (Ami: 8000)**

"In case you're wondering my Psy-Knight allows me to Special Summon a Psychic type monster from my hand, but I take two hundred times the summoned monster's level in damage, oh well," Melissa explained.

"Now I'll activate Destructotron's effect and pay 1000 Life Points to destroy your face down card!" Destructotron raised on of its hands and began to gather energy.

**(Melissa: 5600) ---- (Ami: 8000)**

"Hold on, I chain, Shrink so now your Destructotron will be having its attack points halved!" a blast of energy shot out of the Spell card heading straight for the robotic monster.

"I knew you'd try something like that, so I was ready I activate Mystic Wok in my hand and then Chain my Psychic Rejuvenation, so first my Rejuvenation activates and I gain 1000 Life Points for every face up Psychic monster I control, and that's two," both Melissa's monster began to glow with a shimmering yellow energy that covered her too.

**(Melissa: 7600) ---- (Ami: 8000)**

"And then my Mystic Wok activates and I can release my Destructotron and gain Life Points equal to either its attack or defense points, obviously I'll choose attack points," a large wok appeared under Destructotron who fell in. It dissolved into motes of light that surrounded Melissa.

**(Melissa: 9200) ---- (Ami: 8000)**

"Man I feel awesome!" Melissa exclaimed. "I feel even better than before this duel started!"

"Oh yes and now your Shrink's effect comes into play, but its target is gone, and since two Spell cards were activated your Beetle's points stay the same."

"And lest we forget I still have my Normal Summon to use and I'll call out Krebons!" the odd looking harlequin floated onto the field and cackled. (ATK 1200/DEF 400)

"Wow, Josh told us you were more or less just a beginner but that was a great move!" Ami cheered.

Melissa rubbed the back of her head and chuckled. "Well I had three great teachers, and despite the fact that Reina clearly didn't exactly like my choice of Monsters they all gave me cards to help me, along with my two best friends giving me my favourite cards," she said.

"But enough banter, Krebons attack her Naturia Beetle!" the air around the small Insect began to warp and shift and it was soon torn apart.

**(Melissa: 9200) ---- (Ami: 7200)**

"Psy-Knight attack her directly with Blade of Mental Energy!" the armored telepath leapt in front of Ami and slashed her with his sword.

**(Melissa: 9200) ---- (Ami: 5500)**

"Ok I'll end my turn by setting one card face down and tuning my level two, Krebons, with my level four, Psy-Knight…" Melissa began.

"Wait there's no level six, Psychic Synchro, unless," Ami gasped.

"_Forces of the past collide with forces of the future, to create and deadly combination! Synchro Summon arise Psy-Queen!"_

Krebons cackled again and became see through and fused with Psy-Knight, who was moments later surrounded by two green rings.

From the burst of light appeared woman in futuristic armor with copper coloured hair that flowed down to her mid back holding a sceptre topped with a green crystal was in her hand, over top of the armor was a silver robe with a circuitry design on it. (ATK 2500/DEF 1600)

"Ok now my turn is over," Melissa grinned.

"Not bad not bad at all," Ami commented. "But still I won't lose!"

"I'll activate Pot of Greed," the grinning jar appeared and Ami quickly drew twice. "Now I'll activate Premature Burial and pay 800 Life Points to revive my Naturia Beetle," the plant matter Insect burst out of the ground.

**(Melissa: 9200) ---- (Ami: 4700)**

"Now I'm going to summon the ever cute and cuddly Naturia Cosmos Beet!" the small black vegetable with three flowers growing out of its head jumped onto the field. (ATK 1000/DEF 700)

"Now I'll tune my level two, Naturia Cosmos Beet with my level four, Naturia Beetle…..," she began.

"_Oh great knight of Mother Earth, charge into battle to defend nature! Synchro Summon, gallop into the fray, Gaia Knight the Force of Earth!"_

Naturia Cosmos Beet jumped into the air and became two green rings that surrounded the Insect, who was reduced to orange framework. From the burst of light rode the mechanized version of Gaia the Fierce Knight. (ATK 2600/DEF 800)

"Gaia Knight attack with Double Lance Strike!" the knight's horse let loose a blast of steam from what had to be its nostril, then the two charged forward and impaled Melissa's monster.

**(Melissa: 9100) ---- (Ami: 4700)**

"And I'm still above my starting total," Melissa chuckled.

"As to be excepted of a Psychic type duelist," Ami murmured.

"Psychic _type_ duelist, don't most people just get referred to by their monsters type name, like most people call Reina a Plant duelist," Melissa said.

"Yes, but you see as you probably already know Reina has the power to make Duel Monsters cards and their effects very real, she's a literal Psychic duelist, that's what I meant," Ami explained.

"_Psychic….duelist,"_ Melissa thought. _"Wait now I remember when she saved me she'd used Duel Monsters cards, I'd meant to ask her about that."_

"Ok I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Ami said.

Melissa drew and grimaced. "I activate Psychic Overload!" a blast of yellow-green energy erupted from Melissa's Graveyard. "Now I'll return three Psychic type monsters from my Graveyard to my Deck then I draw twice times!" Psy-Knight and Commander along with Krebons fell out of Melissa's Graveyard, she then added them to her Deck and hit the auto shuffle button, then drew two new cards.

"Ok I'll set a monster face down along with a new face down card and end my turn," she said.

"I'll activate Level Retuner and thanks to it I can lower my Gaia's level by one," a blast of energy shot out of the card striking the mechanical knight. (LV 6-5)

"Now meet Naturia Vein!" a small humanoid creature jumped out onto the field, this one was made of leaves, most of it was green but some leaves on its back were blue. (ATK 200/DEF 300)

"Now I tune my level one, Naturia Vein with my now level five Gaia Knight…," she began.

"_Seiryuu grand guardian of the east grace this humble battle with your presence, with all your might protect Mother Earth! Synchro Summon, come forth Naturia Balkion!"_

Naturia Vein became a single green, ring that surrounded Gaia, who became orange framework. From the burst of light emerged a large serpentine Dragon with white scales and brown bark like armor covering its back. (ATK 2500/DEF 1800)

"Now I activate my face down card Call of the Haunted so my Gaia Knight is back," from the ground burst the mechanical looking Warrior.

"You know something," Melissa mused. "He would make a great addition to Reina's Turbo Deck, he looks like her Synchro monsters."

"Oh yes Josh did mention she uses the Warrior archetype in her Turbo Deck," Ami said. "But enough witty banter Balkion attack her face down with Terra Flare!" the Dragon opened its maw and fired a stream of green flames.

"Reveal face down card Sakuretsu Armor, so now…," before Melissa could even finish her sentence Naturia Balkion roared and her Trap card shattered like glass. "Hey what just happened?" she cried as her face down monster was destroyed.

"That would be Balkion's effect, I just have to remove two cards from my to negate the activation of your Trap cards," Ami explained as Shrink and Rush Recklessly fell out of her Graveyard and she slid them into her pocket.

"But now your defenceless, Gaia Knight attack her directly!" the mechanical monster charged forward his lance at the ready. And at the last second Melissa jumped out of the way narrowly missing being ran through.

**(Melissa: 6500) ---- (Ami: 4700)**

"Oh yes I almost forgot, since I negated one of the Spell, Trap or monster effects I can now add a level three or lower Naturia monster from my Deck to my hand," Ami explained as a single card popped out of her Duel Disk.

"So I'll set a card face down and end my turn, but Melissa, it looks like you're finished, maybe you should just surrender and spare yourself the pain," Ami said.

Melissa looked at her Deck. _"A monster that can negate my Traps and both of them are really strong, what can I possibly do?" _she asked herself.

She tore the top card off her Deck and grinned. "Well what Reina said is true, it really isn't over until the last card is drawn!" Melissa shouted.

"I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the Pot of Green appeared in the center of the field and both girls pulled three cards off the top of her Deck.

"Yes!" she cried. "I activate Monster Reborn to revive Psy-Queen!" the armored Psychic type female jumped from the ankh.

"Now I summon Psychic Commander!" in a burst of ones and zeroes appeared a truly weird looking creature. It was humanoid dressed in a green military uniform and it appeared to be riding some kind of UFO. (ATK 1400/DEF 800)

"Now I'll bring them together to summon one of my most treasured cards!" Melissa shouted. "I tune my level three, Psychic Commander and my level six, Psy-Queen…," she began.

"_The ultimate perfection of technology blasts its way through any obstacle, with a sleek form surging with pure power! Synchro Summon and open fire Hyper Psychic Blaster!"_

Psychic Commander grinned and fused with Psy-Queen, who moments later was surrounded by three green rings, she became orange framework and the burst of light was enormous.

The monster that emerged was huge. It was about fifteen feet tall and covered in white armor, it only had a single optic sensor and two futuristic guns in place of hands. (ATK 3000/DEF 2500)

"Hyper Psychic Blaster attack Naturia Balkion with Psychic Beam Barrage!"

The monster raised its arms and the guns began to glow. _"Roger, target locked,"_ the monster said in a computerized voice.

"Wait you can talk?" Melissa asked turning to look at the tall Psychic monster.

"_Affirmative, blasters fully charged preparing to fire,"_ the Psychic Synchro answered before unleashing a hail of laser fire vaporizing the Dragon.

**(Melissa: 6500) ---- (Ami: 4200)**

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Melissa grinned.

The Principal's office

While Zeke was landing the final blow in his duel, both Sonia and the cloaked man seemed to be shocked. "Umm, sir how did her monster speak if the Darkness Game is merely a weak one?"

The cloaked man didn't reply for a moment. "Amazing," he gasped.

"What is it sir?" Sonia asked.

"Well the pure energy Mr. Kessler emitted even in his injured state, and the fact that Ms. Yoshiro has a Card Spirit," he replied.

"Surely you must be joking," Sonia said.

"No, I'm guessing the love Ms. Yoshiro shows for that card called the spirit to it, and don't call me Shirley," the cloaked man explained.

The duel

"I have to admit Melissa that thing is cool, but in the end I'll have to destroy it if I'm to win the duel," Ami said staring up with awe at the monster Melissa had just summoned.

"I'd like to see you try," Melissa dared. "And I did end my turn so you can go."

Ami drew and scowled, clearly what she drew wouldn't help her much. "Oh just to tell you I wouldn't try to defend if I were you," Melissa grinned. "Hyper Psychic Blaster has piercing effect."

"Damn," Ami swore. "Then all I can really do it place a card face down and end my turn, but why'd you tell me not to defend?"

"Well this is a Darkness Game, so all the cards and their effects are very real, and I didn't want you to get hurt unnecessarily," Melissa told her.

"Hyper Psychic Blaster attack her Gaia Knight!" the robotic looking Psychic monster unleashed another blast of laser fire reducing Gaia to ashes.

**(Melissa: 6500) ---- (Ami: 3800)**

"I set one card face down and end my turn by activating Mirage of Nightmare," a Spell card appeared on the field and Ami blinked in confusion.

"Huh, I've heard of that card, but I've never seen it before it's supposed to be pretty rare," she said.

"It is, I got it from a lucky pull, a really lucky one considering my friends begged me to trade it," Melissa grinned. "It's useful, because you see during your Standby Phase I get to draw until I hold four cards, and as you can see my hand is empty."

"There has to be a catch," Ami muttered.

"Oh indeed there is one, and it is that during my Standby Phase I have to randomly discard the same number of cards I drew," Melissa explained.

Ami looked at her opponent incredulously. She shrugged and pulled her next card off the top of her Deck and seconds later Melissa pulled four off her Deck.

"Now I activate Emergency Provisions and get rid of Mirage to gain back 1000 Life Points, and of course since Mirage is gone and I have to discard squat," Melissa chuckled as the Spell card dissolved into motes of light that surrounded the Psychic type duelist.

**(Melissa: 7500) ---- (Ami: 3800)**

Ami looked at what she'd draw and grinned. "I activate Double Summon, so obviously I get two Normal Summons this turn and I'll use my first to call out Naturia Butterfly," the monster that came out was a pink butterfly with heart shapes at the end of its antenna. (ATK 500/DEF 1200)

"Now for Normal Summon number two, meet my Naturia Antjaw!" the next monster was a cartoonish looking ant with leaves sprouting from its back and functioning as wings. (ATK 400/DEF 200)

"Now I tune my level three, Naturia Butterfly, with my level two, Naturia Antjaw…," Ami began.

"_Byakko, tiger king and guardian of the west, shaking the enemies of Mother Earth with your powerful roar! Synchro Summon, awaken Naturia Beast!"_

Naturia Butterfly spun around and became three green rings. They surrounded Naturia Antjaw who became framework. From the burst of light appeared a large green furred tiger with bark covering its legs. (ATK 2200/DEF 1700)

"Ok I have to say he looks impressive, but he much too weak to defeat my Hyper Psychic Blaster," Melissa commented.

"Ok I know that, but last time I checked your Hyper Psychic Blaster can be defeated by Spell cards, like my Tribute to the Doomed, which mean I simply have to discard one card to destroy your monster," Ami slid a familiar Spell card into her Graveyard and bandages burst out of the ground and Ami pulled the top card off her Deck.

"Hold it!" Melissa snarled. "I won't let Hyper Psychic Blaster go without a fight, reveal face down card My Body as a Shield, now I play 1500 Life Points and your card is negated and destroyed," a yellow aura surrounded Melissa and she cringed.

**(Melissa: 6000) ---- (Ami: 3800)**

"I'm sorry Melissa but your Psychic Blaster is going to die, because I activate Naturia Beast's effect and send the top two cards on my Deck to the Graveyard to negate _your_ Spell card and destroy it," Ami pulled the top two cards off her Deck and dropped them into her discard slot.

Naturia Beast roared and Melissa's Spell card shattered. A tear ran down her cheek and she turned away as Hyper Psychic Blaster was pulled into the ground.

"Now I get to add another low level Naturia monster from my Deck to my hand," Ami said as another card slid out of her Deck.

"I really hate to kick someone when they're down but I was ordered to win, Naturia Beast attack her directly Primal Roar!" Naturia Beast roared again, only this one was about ten times louder than the previous one.

It slammed into Melissa causing her to skid back and fall flat on her rear. "Well that hurt, my ears are ringing," she groaned getting to her feet.

**(Melissa: 3800) ---- (Ami: 3800)**

"Wow our Life Points are dead even, but why do I have the feeling this isn't the first time it's happened this night," Melissa muttered and Ami shrugged in response.

"I'm really sorry I had to do that Melissa, but you know that monster will be back in some other duel," Ami said. "Now I'll end my turn with a face down card."

Melissa nodded, she knew she'd get other chances to summon Hyper Psychic Blaster, but still hurt to see it die. "I know and I'll set a monster on the defensive and end my turn," she said as a set monster appeared before her.

"I summon Naturia Cliff!" the large cartoonish square chunk of rock lumbered onto the field. (ATK 1500/DEF 1000)

"Naturia Beast attack her face down monster with your Primal Roar!" the green tiger let loose another thunderous roar that slammed into Melissa's face down monster, revealing a familiar gold armored monster.

"Looks like my Mind Protector's defense is just too tough for your Beast to go through, plus your Cliff can't even attack now, nor can any non-Psychic type monster with 2000 or less attack points," Melissa explained.

"Oh well nothing I can do, I'll end my turn," Ami sighed.

A red aura surrounded Mind Protector and Melissa. "This would be Mind Protector's special effect, well a part of it, I have to pay 500 Life Points during my Standby Phase," she explained.

**(Melissa: 3300) ---- (Ami: 3800)**

Melissa drew and grinned broadly. "I summon Psychic Jumper," a small very gaunt humanoid creature with blue skin dressed in a brown jacket walked onto the field. (ATK 100/DEF 1500)

"I tune my level two, Psychic Jumper with my level three, Mind Protector…," Melissa began.

"_With armor of steel and a soul of light, grant the forces of good energy to fight on! Synchro Summon Magical Android!"_

Psychic Jumper merged with Mind Protector and the golden armored monster was surrounded by two green rings. It became framework and a burst of light was produced. The female Android stepped from the light and looked back at Melissa and smiled. (ATK 2400/DEF 1700)

"Magical Android attack her Naturia Beast!" the female Psychic monster raised her staff and blasted the tiger with a bolt of energy.

**(Melissa: 3300) ---- (Ami: 3600)**

"Good thing tigers aren't still on the endangered species list or I'd have felt bad about that," Melissa chuckled. "Now I'll move to my Main Phase two and activate Emergency Recharge, and since I have no other cards in my hand when I activated this, I get to draw four new cards," Melissa pulled four cards off the top of her Deck.

"Now I'll end my turn with two face down cards then my Android's effect activates and I gain back 600 Life Points four every Psychic type monster I have, but I only have one, Magical Android raised her staff and Melissa was surrounded by a yellow-green aura.

**(Melissa: 3900) ---- (Ami: 3600)**

Ami drew and smiled. "Well this'll probably one of my last moves, because I activate Miracle Synchro Fusion, and with its awesome power I remove Naturia Balkion and Beast to call out the king of the Naturia monsters!" the spirits of the two Naturia monsters flew into the fusion vortex with erupted like a volcano, only light poured out instead of lava.

From the vortex appeared a monster that was a fusion in every sense of the word. It looked for the most part like Naturia Beast, but covering its head was a helmet that looked like Naturia Balkion's head. (ATK 2800/DEF 2400)

"Now I activate Energy Drain!" Ami declared and much to Melissa's confusion a Spell card appeared.

"Wait I've heard of Energy Drain isn't it a Trap card?" she inquired.

"Yes, but you could say this is an alternate version of Energy Drain, with different kanji and a much better effect for this situation, this one reduces your monster's attack points down to zero and I get to draw one card," a burst of yellow energy fired out of the Spell card and struck Magical Android causing her to fall to her knees. (ATK 2400-0/DEF 1700)

"Now I'll first move Naturia Cliff into defense mode then I'll have Naturia Extrio attack your weakened Android with Supreme Primal Roar!" the massive Naturia monster roared and the attack was so loud Melissa had to cover her ears to avoid going deaf.

The attack slammed into Magical Android causing her to explode like glass and then the sound waves struck Melissa causing her to howl in pain and go flying back.

**(Melissa: 1100) ---- (Ami: 3600)**

Melissa groaned and stood up. "Ugh I am really going to feel that in the morning."

"I'll end my turn, and in case you planned on using either of those face down cards in some kind of combo, forget it with my Extrio's awesome power I can remove a card from my Graveyard and discard a card from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard to negate the activation of any Spell or Trap card," Ami explained.

"_I kind of figured something like that from that thing's appearance,"_ Melissa thought. _"But if what I have planned works, I might be able to win this duel."_

Melissa drew and her face lit up when she saw the card. "I activate my face down card Call of the Haunted!" she cried.

"Huh, weren't you listening when I told you it was pointless?" Ami asked as her Extrio began to growl. "I invoke Naturia Extrio's effect!"

"That's what I wanted you to do!" Melissa laughed. "Reveal other face down card Divine Wrath!" a bolt of lightning descended from the heavens striking Naturia Extrio reducing it to ashes. "Divine Wrath allows me to discard one card to negate your Extrio's effect and destroy it, and the card I discarded was my copy of Discard Clause!"

"Now since my Call of the Haunted wasn't negated my Hyper Psychic Blaster is back!" from the ground burst the robotic looking Psychic monster.

"Hyper Psychic Blaster attack her Naturia Cliff with Psychic Beam Barrage!" the mechanical looking monster unleashed its deadly hail of laser fire blowing the large slab of rock to pebbles.

"Now my monster's effect activates and since it attacked a monster with lower defense points that was in defense mode I gain the different in the attack and defense points of our two monsters, in other words I gain the damage you're about to take," Melissa explained.

**(Melissa: 3100) ---- (Ami: 1600)**

"I activate Naturia Cliff's effect and call out another Naturia monster in attack mode, and I choose another Cliff!" another giant slab of rock with a face rose up over the field.

"It doesn't matter because I have cards left to play," Melissa said. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell card Trap Booster, now I can discard one card, and it would be my copy of Discard Clause, the I get to activate a Trap card from my hand, like the deadly Assault Mode Activate!" after she drew a card a pillar of light erupted out of the Trap and struck Hyper Psychic Blaster causing it to transform.

Its armor had remained mostly the same only with some black panels filled with green binary code, its head was now floating in a large black glass dome covered chamber and it had a pair of metal wings on its back attached to a large black ring, its blasters had become larger and more deadly looking. (ATK 3500/DEF 3000)

"Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode annihilate her Naturia Cliff with Psychic Beam Assault!" the new monster raised its weapons over its head and fired two laser beams into the air. After about a second the exploded releasing a million smaller laser burst, these struck Ami's monster blowing it to tiny fragments.

**(Melissa: 3100) ---- (Ami: 0)**

The fog disappeared and Melissa ran over to Ami who'd been knocked over by her final attack. "Ami are you alright?" she asked frantically.

Ami groaned and held her head. "For the most part, but I feel like someone took a jackhammer to the side of my head," she moaned.

"Can you walk, because I have a terrible feeling and the others may need our help," Melissa said and Ami nodded and got to her feet. After that the girls ran out of the room.

The Principal's office

The cloaked man had a huge grin on his unseen face. "Yes the time has come at long last!" he cried. The circle he'd draw earlier was now sparking with surges of energy. Then the runes around the edge began to spin rapidly.

"It's finally time!" the cloaked man shouted throwing his cloak off. "Ye dark beasts who seek to devour the Gods themselves, sealed deep within the earth's core, awaken and be born from the power of five servants of the Crimson Dragon!" the once cloaked man chanted throwing his hands up.

The runes turned jet black and were spinning so fast they looked like a single line instead of runes. Darkness started to seep out of the circle and thunder and lightning could be heard crashing outside.

"Awaken the God that devours other Gods, the God that instils fear in the Gods and the God more powerful than any other God!" the school shook violently yet the once cloaked man didn't falter. Three cards appeared over the Principal's desk and the cloaked man grabbed them.

"Yes I finally have them!" he laughed. "Soon this world and every living creature shall bow at my feet, then the Gods themselves shall kneel before me as I become the king of kings!" the once cloaked man laughed holding up the three cards.

"Hold it right there you freak!" three voices shouted at the same time. Vincent, Reina and Josh ran into the room and stopped with looks of pure shock on their faces.

The person before them other than Sonia was none other than……Leon Archer.

**Zeke: Well it looks like the secret is out.**

**Reina: Yep the main villain of the arc is the head of the Public Security and Maintenance Bureau Leon Archer.**

**Josh: Who honestly didn't see that coming?**

**Rob: I had no clue.**

**Vincent: That bastard he controlled me like a puppet!**

**Archer: No matter you children cannot stop me, soon I shall be all powerful.**

**Melissa: Next, Reina and Josh are forced to team up against Sonia in a deadly duel with high stakes, their very souls.**

**Reina/Josh: Don't miss Grappling with the Gods!**

**Reina/Josh: Wait what!**

**Original Cards**

Psy-Knight

Earth | Level 4 | Psychic/Effect | 1700/1400 | When this card is Normal Summoned you may Special Summon a level four or lower Psychic type monster from your Deck. (It may not attack the turn it was Summoned.) Once per turn you may Special Summon one level four or lower Psychic type monster from your hand, if you do you take damage to your Life Points equal to the Summoned monster's level times 200.

Psy-Commander

Earth | Level 4 | Psychic/Effect | 1600/1500 | As long as this card remains face up on your side of the field all Psychic type monsters you control gain 300 attack and defense points.

Psy-Queen

Earth | Level 6 | Psychic/Synchro/Effect | 2500/1600 | 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Psychic type monster(s). If a Psychic type monster you control other than this one is targeted by the effect of a Spell, Trap or Monster effect you can pay Life Points equal to the targeted monster's level times 300 to negate the activation of that card and destroy it.

Energy Drain

Image: A swirl of yellow-green energy surrounding something.

| Quick-Play Spell | The attack points of a target monster your opponent controls becomes 0. Draw 1 card.

Trap Booster

Image: A bear trap with rockets on the side.

| Quick-Play Spell | Discard 1 card. This turn activate 1 Trap card in your hand.

(This card was first used by Zane Truesdale/Ryo 'Kaiser' Marufuji in Yu-gi-oh! GX episode 57 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)


	18. Ch18: Grappling with the Gods

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Eighteen: Grappling with the Gods

Reina, Josh and Vincent were running down the hallway towards the Principal's office and they were only a few meters away. Suddenly the ground began to shake and the three were slammed into the wall.

"What in the name of Hell was that!" Reina shouted as the rumbling sound subsided.

"No clue, but I have a really bad feeling, like when I ate my Grandmother's extra spicy chilly last week," Vincent muttered as the trio continued down the hall.

They ran into the Principal's office. "Hold it right there you freak!" the three shouted in shock.

Standing before them was Sonia and another person they couldn't believe, well Josh could but Reina and Vincent were having trouble believing.

"Hello children, have been enjoying the night, because this shall be marked as the night in which I obtained the means to become king of everything!" Archer announced proudly.

The three teens stared at the man open mouthed, somehow the sucker Vincent was eating hadn't fallen out. "It…..can't……be," Reina finally managed to gasp.

"Oh but it is Ms. Fudo, and I must thank you, your father and your friends for providing me with the means to my ends and the end of an era, because as I said…," Archer laughed.

"Oh shut up!" Josh interrupted. "We get it you have a God complex get over yourself, and we get it you think you're going to rule the world!"

Sonia snarled. She had short hair violet coloured hair much like Reina's mother, and dull brown eyes, she was dressed in a black cloak and wore a dark blue t-shirt underneath along with a pair of jeans.

"Don't interrupt the Master while he's speaking!" she snarled.

"It is alright Sonia, people like them will be the first to die when my reign begins so pay them no mind," Archer said calmly.

"Man you have a bigger ego than Seto Kaiba and Josh's dad combined," Reina snickered. "But in case you haven't realized we have you out numbered and we aren't letting you leave!"

Archer and Sonia both stared at Reina for a second before they burst out laughing. "You have too much faith in your talents witch!" Sonia sneered and Reina growled.

"Yes," Archer said softly and yet his voice carried around the room as if he held a microphone. "Reina, Joshua and Vincent I have an offer you'd be foolish to refuse."

"Go on," Vincent said.

"Join me, and possibly convince your friends to join me as my warriors to herald in a new era and we shall change the world for the better!" Archer declared.

"You know Archer normally I'd tell you to go shove that offer where the sun don't shine, but that should be very self explanatory, I will never join you!" Reina snapped.

"I agree with her!" Josh and Vincent answered in unison.

"You three are idiots!" Sonia laughed. "The Master could make you powerful beyond compare and you choose not to join us!"

"Yep," the three teens replied all together.

"Oh well nothing I can do, and although I'm highly doubtful you three could hamper my plans, especially considering how much you've helped it, but none the less you must die here and now," Archer said and the three stepped back in terror.

"Wait how have we helped you?" Vincent asked. "Ok besides the obvious in my case, and on that note you'll pay for that!"

"You Vincent are the one who defeated Joshua's henchmen I merely assisted you with Spell and Trap cards, and Ms. Fudo and Mr. Atlas and their friends have provided me with much need Duel Energy to awaken these!" Archer explained holding up three cards.

The three teens looked at them and arched an eyebrow. The three cards were effect monsters level ten, Fiend type but oddly enough only two of the cards had artwork and they were ugly.

"What are those things, other than unbelievably hideous?" Rein asked.

"These, Ms. Fudo are the mighty and nearly unstoppable Wicked God monsters," Archer answered. "They were created by Yakou Tenma, who as you may or may not know is Maximillion Pegasus' adopted son and protégé, they were to created to defeat the three Egyptian God monsters that Yugi Muto once held, they were created because Tenma was enraged by his adopted father's loss to Muto."

"But after Yugi defeated him Tenma realized these cards were pure evil and sought to destroy them, but they were much too evil to destroy, he couldn't rip them up or take a lighter to them, anything he tried and the same happened to others who tried as well, so he did the next best thing, like the Sacred Beast cards sealed under Pacific Duel Academy these cards were sealed under what would evolve into New Domino Duel Academy," Archer continued.

"And so I managed to find out about them and began gathering the energy needed to free them, the first thing I needed was several massive sources of power, and I used the mighty power of the Crimson Dragon taken from its five servants, then I needed one final thing pure raw Duel Energy, hence why I lured you here tonight!" he finished.

"But wait you never dueled my father or Reina's mother!" Josh protested.

"No but I did hire Aaron Zebel and I also had one of my duelist assassins take his soul after he failed, I never planned on paying him anyway," Archer shrugged. "So as you can see you've all helped me in one way or another, and now you'll pay for it with your souls, because soulless and dead men and women tell no tales!" he laughed.

"Archer!" Reina snarled as she activated her Duel Disk. "I'm not dying without a fight!"

Archer rubbed his chin. "Hmm yes, well The Wicked Avatar does need more energy to fully materialize," he mused. "Fine I'll make you a deal, should you defeat Sonia in a duel you may leave here with your souls intact, lose and I'll feed them to The Avatar."

"Sounds fine to me!" the three teens shouted with Josh and Vincent activating their Duel Disks.

Archer pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Sonia. It was Deck of Duel Monsters cards. "Sonia defeat these three, you may even use my former Deck, now I must leave to compose a new Deck suited for The Wicked Gods," he said softly.

Sonia nodded and slid the Deck into her Duel Disk which up until now hadn't been noticed. "I won't disappoint you my Master," she said as Archer seemed to dissolve into darkness.

"What the where'd he go?" Vincent asked.

"He's gone back to headquarters to construct a Deck focused around the three Wicked God cards, so two of you will duel me," Sonia said.

"Huh, only two, but last I checked all three of use want to kick your butt," Vincent said.

"Yes but with your cards you and Josh would be a powerful tag team and I simply cannot allow that," Sonia smirked. She raised a hand and fired a ball of energy that slammed into Vincent's chest causing him to cry out and fly back before slamming into the wall knocked out cold.

"So shall we begin?" Sonia asked mockingly.

"Ok but how'll this work, is it a one sided tag duel or a triangle duel?" Reina asked.

"This shall be the first option, a one sided tag duel, you two shall face me and my Master's unbeatable Deck!" Sonia laughed. "You'll both start with 4000 Life Points and I'll have double that and you'll each have separate fields, but you'll share a Graveyard, you may use what the other has on the field, like for a Synchro Summoning or even an Advance Summon but you may only attack with what you summon yourself, a Synchro Summoned monster using both your monsters is controlled by both of you but the person who Synchro Summoned it takes the damage, if one of you is defeated the other will continue on until they too are defeated, you may not share strategies is that clear, those are the rules and you may both have a minute to adjust your Decks."

Reina and Josh nodded to each other and they pulled out their Deck, they searched through them removing some cards. Then they opened their side Decks and swapped cards out for those they'd taken out.

"Ok time is up let's begin your final duel!" Sonia announced activating her Duel Disk which seemed to be made of bronze or possible gold with a silver gem.

**(Reina: 4000) ---- (Josh: 4000) ---- (Sonia: 8000)**

"You two may decide who goes first but make it quick," Sonia said tapping her foot impatiently.

Reina and Josh walked over to each other and held up their hands. They shook their fist. "Rock, paper, scissors shoot!" they exclaimed holding out their hands. Reina's fingers stuck out as scissors and Josh's hand was flat as paper.

"Looks like I get to make the first move!" Reina declared pulling her six cards off the top of her Deck.

"In the end it won't matter," Sonia said as the darkness began to surround the three. Reina and Josh both shivered, this was a much more powerful Darkness Game, and they could feel it.

"I set a monster on the defensive and then a card face down and that'll be all," she said.

"Not a very grand move coming from the daughter of a former King, oh well your father never was much of a King anyway," Sonia sneered.

"Nope, and unlike Jack you can't goad me into being stupid by insulting my father's status as ex-King of Dueling in New Domino," Reina smirked.

"Whatever, I activate the Field Spell, Temple of the Forgotten Deity!" a large building rose up behind Sonia. It looked like various temples and places of worship from different religions had been mashed together as one.

"Now I'll activate the continuous Spell card Field Barrier, now my Field Spell cannot be destroyed or displaced," Sonia explained.

"Then I'll set a card face down and that shall be all for this turn," she said.

Just as Josh was about to add the card he'd drawn to his hand Sonia's face down card flipped open and a man with silver hair in golden armor appeared and lightning danced across Josh's field. "Reveal Thunder of Ruler, now you can't enter your Battle Phase," she smirked. "You may continue on with your turn."

"About time," Josh growled. "I summon Cave Dragon," the craggy green scaled Dragon stomped onto the field. (ATK 2000/DEF 100)

"I'll set a card face down and then, turn end," he said.

Sonia grinned and drew as them temple behind her began to glow. "One of the effects of my Temple activates and I get to call out a Divine Follower Token, it'll have 0 attack and defense points as well as be a level one Spellcaster type monster, and I may choose its attribute, and for this one I choose fire!" in a burst of flames appeared a man in red robes with a shaved head and the kanji for fire on the front of his robe, he was crouching defensively. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Ok mind telling us what the point of that was?" Rein asked.

"You'll learn in due time but for now I'm going to summon Atlas the Earthshaking Deity!" the ground began to shake and then it split open and a large male creature made of stone with smoke pouring from its nostrils. (ATK 2300/DEF 500)

"2300 attack points, there must be a catch!" Josh shouted.

"Oh there is but that won't matter in a minute for you see Atlas is able to attack every monster on my opponent's side of the field, so go Atlas show these fools your power with your Thunderous Quake!" Atlas jumped into the air and came down causing the ground to shake so violently Reina and Josh were knocked over.

**(Reina: 4000) ---- (Josh: 3700) ---- (Sonia: 8000)**

"Now normally Atlas would move into defense mode but if I release a monster he can remain in attack mode and so good bye Divine Follower Token," the man dissolved into motes of light that surrounded the Rock creature.

"One card face down and that'll be all," Sonia sneered.

Reina drew and grinned. "I summon the mighty Cactus Fighter!" a humanoid creature made entirely out of plant matter jumped onto the field. (ATK 1900/DEF 400)

"Lady Reina, I and your other monsters will protect you to the best of our abilities," Cactus Fighter said much to Reina's surprise.

"W…wait you can talk?" she asked.

"Yes as can most of your humanoid monsters," Cactus Fighter informed her.

"Ok that's pretty cool, and I'll be activating my Plant Food Chain, and it'll be equipped to my Cactus Fighter and he'll gain 500 attack points," a green aura began to surrounded the Plant man. (ATK 1900-2400/DEF 400)

"Cactus Fighter take out her titan with Spike Punch!" the Plant man charged forward and slugged the stone beast causing it to explode in a shower of rocks.

**(Reina: 4000) ---- (Josh: 3700) ---- (Sonia: 7900)**

"Thank you because now I get to take a monster with Deity out of my Deck and add it to my hand," Sonia smirked as a card slid out of her Deck.

"Good for you but look at your side of the field," Reina grinned.

Sonia gasped. Because growing from where Atlas had been was a small cactus with the branches crossed over it. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Where'd this damn Plant come from?" she snarled.

"That would be a Needle Token, whenever my Cactus Fighter trashes one your monsters you'll get one in defense mode," Reina explained. "But you won't be getting any use out of it, because I activate Fragrance Storm, and all I have to do is destroy one Plant type monster on the field and then I get to draw one card."

"So what you'll destroy your own Cactus Fighter just to draw?" Sonia asked.

"Nope, I'm destroying your Needle Token, it says the field not just my side of the field," Reina grinned as the small cactus exploded and she plucked a card off the top of her Deck. "Oh yes and if the card I drew is a Plant type monster I can show it to you and draw again," she explained spinning the card around to reveal it was Copy Plant.

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," she said.

"Heh, you seem to think that because you managed to gain a small advantage that you'll be winning this duel," Sonia sneered. "Well I hate to disappoint you but I'm going to be sending you two screaming into the Abyss!"

"Enough yapping, just make your move!" Josh snapped.

"Fine I create another Token this one will also be fire attribute!" in another burst of flames another red robbed man appeared.

"Now I'll release him to call out Prometheus the Burning Deity!" in a blast of flames the Token was consumed and in its place appeared a bare chested man with skin that seemed to be made of cooled magma. (ATK 2600/DEF 2300)

"2600 attack points, that's insane!" Josh shouted.

"I'm not done yet, you see another effect of my Temple activates now and since the Divine Follower Token was used for the release of a monster of the same attribute then I get to draw a card," Sonia explained pulling card off the top of her Deck.

"Prometheus attack Reina's Cactus Fighter with your Searing Blast!" Prometheus raised his hand a fired a burst of white hot flames that consumed Reina's monster.

**(Reina: 3800) ---- (Josh: 3700) ---- (Sonia: 7900)**

"And now is effect activate and since he destroyed monster by battle you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's level times 300!" Prometheus chuckled and a torrent of flames covered Reina causing her to cry out in agony.

**(Reina: 2600) ---- (Josh: 3700) ---- (Sonia: 7900)**

"Now I'll end my turn, care to surrender you two?" Sonia asked mockingly.

"We'll never give up!" Reina and Josh both snarled.

Josh drew and smirked. "I activate Monster Reborn so welcome back Cave Dragon!" the lazy Dragon crawled onto the field and yawned.

"Now I release him to call out my Strong Wind Dragon!" Cave Dragon dissolved into motes of light that were absorbed by the larger greenish coloured Dragon. (ATK 2400/DEF 1000)

"Fool he isn't strong enough and when Prometheus destroys him you'll be 1800 points closer to your death!" Sonia laughed.

"You are really starting to piss me off," Josh snarled. "You're the fool because in case you didn't know my Strong Wind Dragon, is also known as the Dragon Monarch!"

"The Dragon Monarch," Sonia parroted.

"Yes because he has six stars 2400 attack points 1000 defense points and his effect only activates when he's Advance Summoned, he gains half the attack points of the Dragon monster used to Summon him, if the monster was a Dragon, so he'll gain 1000 attack points!" to emphasize Josh's point Strong Wind Dragon threw back its head and roared as its points climbed. (ATK 2400-3400/DEF 1000)

"Kill her Prometheus with your Strong Hurricane!" Strong Wind Dragon roared and fired a cyclone from its maw, it slammed into the fiery Titan causing him to shatter.

**(Reina: 2600) ---- (Josh: 3700) ---- (Sonia: 7100)**

"Heh that'll teach him to give fire to mankind," Josh snickered.

"No lame jokes ok Josh," Reina muttered

"No matter I'll simply add another Deity to my hand," Sonia said as another card fell out of her Deck.

"Heh you may think your Dragon can save you but like I said I won't be losing I'm one of Master Archer's most powerful duelists and with this Deity Deck I'm truly invincible!" she laughed.

"You may think that but so did Goodwin and my dad kicked him to the curb in the end," Reina smirked.

"With the help of my dad and Rob's dad, don't forget that Reina," Josh added.

"I am far more powerful than Goodwin could've dreamed of being, and soon Mater Archer will become a God and all those who were loyal to him will reap untold rewards!" Sonia declared.

"You're totally blind, I'm betting to Archer you're nothing more than a pawn he can throw away when your usefulness runs out," Reina said.

"Silence you don't know what you're talking about, you should've joined Master Archer when he gave you a chance!" Sonia snarled. "Thanks to the effect of my Temple I call out another Divine Follower Token and this one will be a water attribute!" another monk appeared this one was dressed in blue with the kanji for water on his robe.

"Now I release him and call out Leviathan the Surging Sea Deity!" the monk walked into the temple and then a torrent of water burst out. It rose up to the three duelists' ankles and Josh and Reina could clearly see a large beast hidden below the water. (ATK 3000/DEF 2700)

"What the hell!" Josh shouted angrily. "That thing was call out with one release and it has those kind of stats, that is the most broken piece of crap since Judgement Dragon!"

"You really can't let that defeat go can you?" Reina asked.

"Both of you shut up!" Sonia snapped. "It is a level eight monster but if I use a water attribute to call it forth I only need one monster."

"Shit," Josh swore.

"Don't worry Mr. Atlas, I won't be attacking you right now anyway, but if I did your monster would die!" Sonia laughed. "Since Ms. Fudo is wide open you can either drop the dead weight or sacrifice your monster to defend her!"

Josh looked at Reina and shook her head. "Don't do it Josh," she said softly.

"It looks like you're ready to die Leviathan attack Ms. Fudo, Tidal Wrath!" something burst out of the water. It looked like a huge Sea Serpent with very dark blue scales and red fins. It opened its maw and unleashed a powerful jet of water.

"Reveal face down card Draining Shield!" Rein a cried.

"Now I'll be gaining Life Points equal to your monster's attack points plus your attack will be negated!" she laughed.

"No you will be dying here and now Ms. Fudo!" Sonia retorted. "Reveal my face down card Trap Jammer, so your Trap card is negated!"

Reina looked stunned. "She isn't dying just yet!" Josh shouted. "I have my own Trap Jammer!" Sonia's Trap card shattered and energy flowed into Reina.

**(Reina: 5600) ---- (Josh: 3700) ---- (Sonia: 7100)**

"Josh…..thank you," Reina said.

"A King must always protect a maiden in trouble and we haven't settled our bet just yet," Josh answered.

Reina's one eye twitched. "Don't call me a maiden and I'm so glad you saved me for the right reasons!"

"Will you two kindly shut the hell up!" Sonia growled.

"Why should we you didn't ask very kindly, so why should we?" Reina asked sarcastically.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Sonia hissed.

"Hey Josh, mind if I use your Dragon?" Reina asked.

"No go ahead, just don't mess things up and cause us to lose," Josh answered.

"I summon Copy Plant!" the twisted mass of vines in a vaguely human shape sprouted onto the field. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Now I tune my level one, Copy Plant and Josh's level six, Strong Wind Dragon…," Reina began.

"_Clustering wishes will ignite to create a fiery new force! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"_

Copy Plant became a single Synchro gate and Strong Wind Dragon flew into it. It was reduced to orange framework and the usual burst of light was produced.

Black Rose Dragon spread her wings and roared. _"Reina I will defend you as I defended your mother,"_ the petal covered Dragon told Rein mentally.

"Ok now I activate Enemy Controller and force your Leviathan to defense mode," Reina grinned as the massive sea beast rose out of the water and curled up.

"Now I activate Black Rose Dragon's effect and remove the Botanical Lion that your Atlas destroyed on your first turn of this duel!" Black Rose Dragon's vines grabbed the Deity and forced it into attack mode. (ATK 3000-0/DEF 2700)

"No you can't destroy Leviathan!" Sonia cried.

"I can, will and in the future will have!" Reina snarled. "Black Rose Dragon torch that thing with your Black Rose Flare!" Black Rose Dragon fired her deadly attack that reduced the mighty Sea Serpent to nothing but a charred corpse the water around the three also dried up.

**(Reina: 5600) ---- (Josh: 3700) ---- (Sonia: 4700)**

"Now I'll be setting a card face down and ending my turn," Reina smirked.

Sonia looked truly livid, her face was bright red and she was breathing heavily. "You two will pay for that!"

"Cry me a river, build me a bridge, or better yet shut the Hell up and take your turn!" Josh snarled. "You and your pathetic boss have wasted my night!"

"Just for that you'll die first!" Sonia growled. "No matter, first thanks to the effect of my Temple I'll add another Deity to my hand, then I'll create another Follower Token, of light attribute this time," yet another monk appeared, needless to say Reina and Josh were getting fed up with these things, this one was dressed in yellow with the kanji for light on his robe.

"Now goodbye follower and hello Quetzalcoatl the Thunder Deity!" the Token was hit by a massive bolt of lightning and in his place appeared a serpentine monster with large feathered wings sprouting from the side of its head. (ATK 2600/DEF 2200)

"Now I'll activate Trap Stun, so now the effects of all other Trap cards are negated for this turn only," Sonia smirked and Reina growled.

"I'm not done yet, I'll activate my Quetzalcoatl's effect and discard two cards from my hand, one of which was Discard Clause so I'll get to draw a new card, and I can now select one card on the field and destroy it!" lightning crackled around the serpentine beast and then it fired a beam of pure electricity, vaporizing the petal covered Dragon much to Reina's horror.

"Now Mr. Atlas for insulting Master Archer you'll be taking the hit for this attack, now die!" the Aztec Deity charged up its deadly attack and fired it at a stunned Josh.

At the last second Reina tackled him knocking him down just as the attack passed overhead. "You idiot you could've and probably would've been killed!" Reina snapped.

**(Reina: 5600) ---- (Josh: 1100) ---- (Sonia: 4700)**

"Thank you Reina, I don't know why but I just froze up," Josh murmured.

"Looks like the maiden had to save the idiot King," Reina snickered.

"Don't call me an idiot you witch!" Josh snapped.

"Don't call me a witch you moron!" she growled.

"Will you two stop behaving like children!" Sonia snarled.

"I'll end my turn," she added.

"Then it's my turn!" Josh declared pulling the top card off his Deck.

"Ok since I we control nothing and you have a monster you get the pleasure of meeting Vice Dragon!" the dark scaled Dragon flew onto the field and snarled at Sonia. (ATK 2000-1000/DEF 2400-1200)

"_Josh summon the King and destroy this fool who dares to threaten you,"_ it told him.

Josh nodded and picked another card in his hand. "I'm calling out a new member of my team, meet Delta Fly!" the monster that flew out was a Dragon with a thin brown body and a pair of strange looking wings with four large white feathers on the ends. (ATK 1500/DEF 900)

"Ok I tune my level three, Delta Fly with my level five Vice Dragon…," Josh began.

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" _

Delta Fly streaked into the air with Vice Dragon following just behind. Delta Fly became three Synchro gates and Vice Dragon flew through them becoming orange framework in the process. Josh's ace monster spread his wings and roared so loudly the whole dome shook. (ATK 3000/DEF 2000)

"_So this is the fool who dares to threaten you?"_ the Dragon Synchro asked in a deep authoritative voice. _"She shall suffer the pain of my Absolute Power Force!"_

"Red Dragon Archfiend kill that damn Quetzalcoatl with Absolute Power Force!" Josh roared and Red Dragon did the same and slashed the Deity causing it to burst into flames.

**(Reina: 5600) ---- (Josh: 1100) ---- (Sonia: 4300)**

"Then I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Josh said.

Sonia looked at the card she'd draw and smirked. _"Yes just one more and my ultimate Deity will destroy them absolutely,"_ she thought.

"I'll create another Follower Token, once again of the light attribute," another yellow robed monk walked onto the field.

"Now I release him to call out Horus the Solar Deity!" both Reina and Josh's eyes nearly popped out of their heads when they heard the name of the next Deity.

The Token was consumed by a pillar of pure light. From above descended a huge beast, it seemed to combine some aspects of The Winged Dragon of Ra and Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8. Its body seemed to be made of gold that emitted a bright shine, its wings were huge and looked like sharp blades, on its back was huge disk with points that made it resemble the sun. The beast opened its glowing red eyes and looked down at the two mortals as if the were nothing. (ATK 3500/DEF 2900)

"Horus as the Black Flame Dragon LV8," Josh asked despite the fact his mouth had gone very dry right now.

"You could say that, that particular monster was Horus' avatar this is his true form, and in case you hadn't realized it yet he's level nine monster, but like Leviathan he could be unleashed with one light attribute release," Sonia explained in a mocking tone of voice.

"Horus kill Red Dragon Archfiend with Wrath of the Sun God!" Horus roared and opened his maw and began to charge solar energy. It roared and a beam of pure light struck Red Dragon Archfiend atomizing him before he could even cry out.

"Hey why didn't your Life Points go down?" Sonia growled.

"Because I activated my Defense Draw," Reina grinned pulling the top card off her Deck. "Sorry Josh I couldn't save Red Dragon Archfiend."

"It's ok Reina, I hate to say this, but you've really been helping me in this duel," he said almost too quietly for her to hear.

"Well I feel the same way," she replied. "Too bad we stopped being friends we make a deadly tag team."

"Hmph enough sentimental bull crap," Sonia scoffed. "One card face down and turn end."

Reina drew and scowled. "I'll set a monster on the defensive and then set a card face down and that's all I can do."

Just as Sonia went to draw Reina's face down card flipped open and loud roar echoed in the darkness. "Sorry but thanks to my Threatening Roar you can't declare an attack this turn," she grinned and Sonia snarled.

"Fine then I'll just end my turn without doing anything," Sonia hissed.

Josh drew and his face lit up. "Time to bring down your damn Horus!" he declared. "I activate Premature Burial to revive my Red Dragon!" the ground erupted and Red Dragon Archfiend flew out snarling with rage.

**(Reina: 5600) ---- (Josh: 300) ---- (Sonia: 4300)**

"Ha, he's too weak to defeat Horus," Sonia laughed.

"Oh I know that but first I'll activate the good old Pot of Greed, because greed can be good," the grinning jar appeared and Josh pulled two cards off the top of his Deck.

"Ok time for Horus to die!" he roared. "I activate Rush Recklessly!" a burning aura appeared around Red Dragon Archfiend. (ATK 3000-3700/DEF 2000) "Kill that damn Dragon impersonator with Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon flew forward and struck the massive Dragon with its claws.

The Egyptian God of the sun screamed in agony as its body literally melted to slag but Sonia merely smirked. "Fool you've activated Horus' effect and now your Dragon loses half its original attack points permanently," a blast of light shot out of Sonia's Graveyard and struck Red Dragon Archfiend who hissed in pain. (ATK 2200/DEF 2000)

"Fine I'll set a card face down and end my turn," he growled. (ATK 2200-1500/DEF 2000)

Sonia drew. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, yes it's finally time to unleash this Deck's most fearsome creature!" she cried.

"Great, maniacal laughter is always a really bad sign," Reina muttered.

"Ya and I have a feeling whatever she'll be summoning will be unbelievable powerful," Josh gulped.

"You're damn right!" Sonia laughed. "I activate the Spell card Cosmic Alignment!" she shouted activating a Spell card that showed a picture of several galaxies lining up.

"Then I'll follow that up by activating my Tear to the Dark Void!" the next card show a huge rip in time and space with a pair of red eyes hidden in the darkness.

"Finally I activate Unleashing the Supreme Deity!" the next card showed what seemed to be the same void but a large pair of arms covered in stars and other various celestial bodies, with hands with ten razor sharp claws reaching out of the void and grabbing a planet that looked like Earth.

"Since Cosmic Alignment and Tear to the Dark Void were active when this card was activated a can now unleash Celestios Deity of Time and Space!" a large rip in the fabric of reality much like the one on the two Spell cards appeared behind Sonia, it was filled with stars and planets and other things you'd except to find in space.

A loud growl could be heard and then a pair of enormous red eyes opened in the rip, no body could be seen but from how far up they were the creature inside had to be at least twenty stories tall. (ATK 3000/DEF 3000)

"What in the Hell is that thing?" Reina cried taking a step back in terror.

This is the God this Temple is devoted to, Celestios the Deity of Time and Space itself, and he is very angry people have forgotten about him, so he'll be happy to take out some aggression on you two," Sonia laughed.

"And he has several powerful effects, he can't be destroyed as result of battle, or by any cards effects, and he has another effect that I'll tell you about later," she explained.

"Celestios attack his Red Dragon with Cosmic Rage!" on her command a huge arm and hand reached out of the void and grabbed Red Dragon Archfiend, he howled in pain and then exploded in a shower of pixels.

**(Reina: 5600) ---- (Josh: 0) ---- (Sonia: 4300)**

"Well Mr. Atlas you're done, any last words?" Sonia asked.

"I have a few," Josh said as his face began to turn very pale. "Like I'll be activating two face down cards, first Wish of Final Effort, and since Red Dragon was destroyed I would normally gain his total attack points as Life Points but since this is a Tag duel Reina you gain them, then go Call of the Haunted so Red Dragon is back!" slowly Red Dragon Archfiend crawled out of the ground, looking much worse for wear.

**(Reina: 7100) ---- (Sonia: 4300)**

"And my last words to you are. Go…..To….Hell," he said before his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.

"Josh!" Reina screamed. She ran over to her fallen rival and checked his pulse, he still had one and he was breathing so he was still alive.

"Heh, he told be to go to Hell, well he'll be the one sent screaming there, unless by some miracle you can beat me," Sonia scoffed. "Oh yes I should mention since you likely haven't noticed it yet, but Celestios gains half the original attack points the monsters he destroys," a loud roar could be heard from the void which seemed to grow. (ATK 3000-4500/DEF 3000)

"I'm not just going to beat you I'm going to annihilate you!" Reina snarled. "I may not like him, but he didn't deserve that!"

"Whatever I'll end my turn," Sonia shrugged.

Reina drew and scowled. _"Nothing in my hand can help me right now, and Josh left me Red Dragon Archfiend but he can't help me either,"_ she thought angrily.

"I activate Magical Mallet!" she shouted. "I'll shuffle all the other cards in my hand back into my Deck and draw the same number of cards," Reina took the three cards in her hand and added them to her Deck before pressing the auto-shuffle button. She pulled three off the top and smiled slightly.

"I'll end my turn," she sighed.

Sonia drew but didn't seem to care anymore. "I choose not to create a useless Follower Token, but I will activate Meteor Rain!" one of her face down cards lifted and Reina gasped.

"Yes now when Celestios attack he'll inflict piercing damage, and he's more powerful than Obelisk the Tormenter!" she laughed. "Celestios attack with Cosmic Rage!" the giant Deity reached out and crushed Reina's face down card.

**(Reina: 3600) ---- (Sonia: 4300)**

The shock wave from the impact hit Reina like a sledgehammer blow and sent her flying backwards. She slammed into the ground and passed out.

"Don't know if she can hear me but if she doesn't wake up in a minute I'll win by default," Sonia snickered. (ATK 4500-5250/DEF 3000)

Reina was now lying in a dark place similar to the place Rob ended up in during his duel. "Reina wake up, you have to wake up!" a voice cried urgently.

"Ugh mom, I don't want to go to school today," she moaned.

"Reina Fudo get up right now!" the voice said sounding annoyed.

"Fine I'm up, I'm up," Reina said. She looked around and gasped. "What happened? Crap I must have died from that attack."

"No dear but time is certainly of the essence," the voice said sounding more calm. Reina looked over in the direction the sound was coming from and gasped.

Two figures were there. One was a woman in a black cloak with long violet coloured hair, Reina recognised her as Black Rose Sorceress. Another standing behind the Fusion monster was a man in silvery white armor with a huge sword strapped to his back, a few locks of black hair hung over his dark blue eyes, Reina didn't recognize this monster, though she had to admit he looked like her father slightly.

"Who are you?" Reina asked.

"Take a guess," the woman said.

Reina thought for a moment. "You're Black Rose Dragon, I'm guessing in human form or something like that," she said.

"See I told you she'd get it in one," the woman said to the knight who shrugged. "Yes more or less that's who I am, all six of us can take human forms, it's to look less intimidating to you and your friends and parents," the woman or whatever she was chuckled.

"Ok so am I dead or is this some kind of limbo?" Rein asked.

"This is how we can talk to you, and Reina you can't give up, it may look hopeless, but if you just draw you can win," Black Rose Dragon told her.

"But that thing is so powerful and it can't die, I don't think can beat it," Reina muttered.

"Young lady, your mother did not raise a quitter now wake up and crush her for all she's put poor Red Dragon through!" Black Rose Dragon snarled her eyes glowing red, and Stardust Dragon just shook his head.

Reina jumped to her feet and her eyes snapped open. "That was freaky," Reina muttered.

"So you're not dead well whatever now I can have the pleasure of crushing you myself," Sonia grinned.

"Like I said I'm winning this and I'm going to annihilate you!" Reina growled. "And since you destroyed my Lord Poison I get to Special Summon another Plant type monster from my Graveyard, so I take it you remember Copy Plant!" the twisted mass of vines grew out of the ground.

"Ok well it's your turn so make your last move," Sonia sighed.

"I call out Gigantic Cephalotus!" the large venus flytrap like monster rose onto the field.

"Now to activate Copy Plant's effect and have it copy the level of my Cephalotus!" Copy Plant began to change until it looked almost exactly like the carnivorous Plant. (LVL 1-4)

"Now I tune my now level four, Copy Plant with my level four Gigantic Cephalotus….!" Reina began.

"_Clustering hopes will combine to create a shining new star! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Reverberate. Stardust Dragon!"_

Copy Plant became four green rings that flew around the giant Plant monster. It was reduced to orange framework and the normal burst of light occurred. Stardust Dragon slowly spread its wings and then threw back its head and roared. It looked over at Red Dragon Archfiend who nodded. (ATK 2500/DEF 2000)

"He's not even close to strong enough but I'll enjoy killing him," Sonia sneered.

"You'll never have a chance because this duel is over now!" Reina shouted throwing a card into her Duel Disk. "I activate my Pot of Greed!" the green pot appeared again and Reina drew twice.

She looked at one of the cards, she clearly never remembered putting this card in her Deck or even seeing it before in her life. She read the text and arched an eyebrow. _"Could it be,"_ she thought.

"I activate Double Summon then I'll summon Savior Knight – Miracle Knight!" a small child dressed in red armor that looked like it was designed after a certain Dragonic Deity jumped onto the field. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Ha, what can that little runt do to my mighty Cosmic Deity?" Sonia laughed. "Last time I checked he can't be destroyed period!"

"Oh I know that, so I'm tuning my level one, Miracle Knight and my level eight, Stardust Dragon!"

"_The light of these clustering stars will create a new kind of miracle! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon, born from the light Miracle Star Knight!"_

Miracle Knight jumped into the air and became a globe of red energy. Stardust Dragon flew into the orb and was reduced to orange framework. The orb exploded producing a burst of light so bright that Reina and Sonia had to cover their eyes.

A figure slowly descended to the ground. He wore glimmering white armor with red boots and gloves, his helm was shaped like a familiar Dragonic Deity, in his hand he held what would've been a truly massive sword, but it was only the hilt and guard, it lacked a blade. (ATK 3500/DEF 3000)

"Closer but he's still too weak," Sonia sneered.

"I know so I'm going to activate his effect, Miracle Negation!" the knight raised his sword and roar of pain could be heard from Celestios as energy began to seep out of the void, it became the blade of the sword as the knight began to glow. (ATK 5250-3000/DEF 3000) (ATK 3500-6500/DEF 3000)

"W…w…what just happened?" Sonia stuttered in shock.

"That would be Miracle Star Knight's effect, Miracle Negation, it negates your monster's effect and steals its attack points," Reina explained.

"I'll still have Life Points after you attack," Sonia spat.

"You'd like to think that but you won't, I'm ending this right now, with my Gift of the Martyr, so I send a monster on the field to the Graveyard, then I select another monster and add the sent monster's attack points to the selected monster's attack points until the End Phase, so I'm glad Josh left me a little gift," Red Dragon seemed to smirk as he dissolved into motes of light that were absorbed into Miracle Star Knight's sword. (ATK 6500-9500/DEF 3000)

"So any last words before I obliterate your best monster?" Reina asked.

Sonia didn't reply no she actually started to cry and stepped back in terror.

"Whatever, Miracle Star Knight end this with Star Buster Blade!" the knight hefted his weapon and charged at the gigantic beast. It appeared out of the void. Celestios looked sort of like the creature on Dimension Distortion only its skin was jet back and covered with the same pattern as inside the void.

Miracle Star Knight jumped into the air with a loud battle cry and cleaved the enormous beast in half. It howled in pain and then it exploded in a thunderous blast of pixels.

**(Reina: 3600) ---- (Sonia: 0)**

Sonia screamed and flew backwards, but the explosion was so loud Reina couldn't hear her. In an instant the darkness began to fade. _"No I can't be defeated this Deck was unbeatable, so I should've been unbeatable,"_ Sonia thought.

"_Too bad Sonia I had such high hopes for you, but in the end you're just a failure, goodbye, but know this your soul is being put to better use,"_ Archer's voice told Sonia causing her to scream as her soul was torn from her being.

Reina smiled as the holograms disappeared. She collapsed a moment later with sweat pouring down her face. "That was my hardest duel yet," she said quietly.

"Need a hand?" a tired voice asked helping Reina to her feet. She looked back and noticed Zeke was lifting her up, and he looked to be in pretty bad condition himself.

"What happened?" she asked. "Did you get struck by lightning?" Reina chuckled as she wrapped an arm around her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Sort of, but what happened to you?" he asked. "Did you take on the Egyptian Gods?"

"Well me and Josh took on one of them, but I'll explain it later," Reina said sounding tired.

"Boss wake up please, we're alive and we're sorry we betrayed you," Morton said shaking Josh who was still unconscious.

"What….happened, and why does my head feel like someone took a sledgehammer to my temple?" Josh asked as he slowly regained consciousness.

"We won Josh," Reina grinned. "And your Red Dragon helped."

Josh just smiled as Morton and Lucian helped their leader to his feet. "Thank the Gods you two are alright!" Vincent exclaimed happily with Rob, Melissa and Kazuki standing behind him.

Reina and Josh looked at each other and burst out laughing. The others gave them funny looks as the two laughed despite the fact that they looked awful.

**Reina: Well that was a freaking tough duel.**

**Josh: And a painful one to say the least.**

**Zeke: Ya but at least the tournament is going to start next chapter.**

**Melissa: With Reina dueling first.**

**Rob: Wow real shocker.**

**Reina: Don't miss Children's Plaything.**

**?: Cool I'm making my debut and the people will love me!**

**Original Cards**

Temple of the Forgotten Deity

Image: A large temple that appears to be various religious buildings mashed together.

| Field Spell | During your Standby Phase you may Special Summon one 'Divine Follower Token' (Spellcaster/Level 1/Attack Points: 0/Defense Points: 0) you may decide its Attribute. If a 'Deity' monster you control is destroyed you may add another 'Deity' monster from your Deck to your hand. If you Advance Summon a 'Deity' monster by releasing a monster of the same Attribute you may draw one card.

Atlas the Earthshaking Deity

Earth | Level 4 | Rock/Effect | 2300/500 | This card cannot be Special Summoned. This monster may attack every monster on your opponent's side of the field. If this card attacks at the end of your Battle Phase switch this monster into defense mode, you may keep this card in attack mode by releasing a monster on your side of the field.

Prometheus the Burning Deity

Fire | Level 6 | Pyro/Effect | 2600/2300 | This card cannot be Special Summoned. If this card destroys an opponent's monster as a result of battle inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the destroyed monster's level times 300.

Leviathan the Surging Sea Deity

Water | Level 8 | Sea Serpent/Effect | 3000/2700 | This card cannot be Special Summoned. You may Advance Summon this card with one release if you release a Water Attribute monster. If this card inflicts damage to your opponent's Life Points they must randomly discard two cards from their hand to the Graveyard.

Quetzalcoatl the Thunder Deity

Light | Level 6 | Thunder/Effect | 2600/2200 | This card cannot be Special Summoned. You may discard two cards to destroy one monster on the field.

Horus the Solar Deity

Light | Level 9 | Dragon/Effect | 3500/2900 | This card cannot be Special Summoned. You may Advance Summon this card by releasing a Light Attribute monster. If this card is destroyed by battle the monster that destroyed this card has its original attack points halved.

Cosmic Alignment

Image: Several galaxies lining up.

| Continuous Spell | This card can only be activated while you control a 'Temple of the Forgotten Deity'.

Tear to the Dark Void

Image: A large rip in time and space with a pair of red eyes looking out from the darkness.

| Continuous Spell | This card can only be activate while you control a 'Temple of the Forgotten Deity' and a 'Cosmic Alignment'.

Unleashing the Supreme Deity

Image: The large rip in reality from Tear to the Dark Void with a pair of arms covered in stars and planets reaching out of the void.

| Continuous Spell | If you activate this card while you control a 'Temple of the Forgotten Deity', 'Cosmic Alignment' and Tear to the Dark Void. If those cards are activate when this card is activated you may send 'Cosmic Alignment', 'Tear to the Dark Void' and this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon one 'Celestios Deity of Time and Space' from your Deck hand or Graveyard to the field.

Celestios Deity of Time and Space

Dark | Level 11 | Fiend/Effect | 3000/3000 | This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by the effect of Unleashing the Supreme Deity. If 'Temple of the Forgotten Deity' is not face up on the field this card is destroyed. This card cannot be destroyed by the effects of Spell, Trap or Monster cards except its own or as a result of battle. If this card destroys a monster as a result of battle increase this card's attack points by half the destroyed monster's original attack points.

Wish of Final Effort

Image: A woman holding a glowing sword.

| Trap | Activate only when one of your monsters is destroyed. Add the total ATK of the destroyed monster to your Life Points. If this card is activated during a Tag-Team Duel, you may have your Tag Team Partner gain Life Points instead of you.

(This card was first used by Kaiba in Yu-gi-oh! Episode 180 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Savior Knight – Miracle Knight

Light | Level 1 | Warrior/Tuner | 0/0 | This card cannot be used as a Synchro Material monster except for the Synchro Summon of a 'Miracle' Synchro monster.

Miracle Star Knight

Wind | Level 9 | Warrior/Synchro/Effect | You may release this card to negate the activation of an opponent's Spell, Trap or Monster effect and destroy either all of their monsters or Spell and Trap cards. Once per turn you may negate the effect(s) of one face up monster your opponent controls and increase this card's attack points by the selected monster's attack points until the End Phase. During the End Phase return this card to your Extra Deck and Special Summon one 'Stardust Dragon' from your Graveyard.


	19. Ch19: Children's Plaything

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Nineteen: Children's Plaything

A/N: A monster in this chapter uses it original Japanese name, the English one makes little sense.

Several days had passed since the incident at Duel Academy, luckily Reina's parents hadn't been angry just worried, in fact it was the same for everyone their families were just happy they were safe. But none of the teenagers felt very safe, especially knowing that Archer had three unbelievably powerful cards in his possession.

Reina woke up and yawned. The sun was filtering through her blinds and she smiled then scowled as she got out of bed. Her limbs still ached and according to Alexandria, Josh still had a pretty bad headache.

She showered and brushed her teeth and then got changed. "Hmm what am I going to do today?" she asked herself as she walked to the kitchen.

"Good morning sweetie," Reina's mother greeted. Reina smiled and sat down at the table.

"Hey mom how'd you and dad deal with the aches and pains of fighting the forces of evil?" Reina asked.

"Well unfortunately there isn't much you can do, well except the way people usually deal with normal pain," Akiza sighed.

"I wish….I wish, I honestly wish I could be normal, I wish I didn't have strange powers, and I wish that Archer wasn't out to take over the world," Reina sighed sadly.

Akiza sighed. This wasn't the first time her daughter had said this, well minus the Archer thing. "I know how you feel sweetie, but there's nothing you can do, just hope no one you love is injured or if they are that it isn't too severely," she said.

New Domino Airport

At the same time Reina was lamenting about the oddities of her life someone was just stepping off a plane. They'd arrived in the city for the tournament and they planned to take the crown and they also planned to stop Archer if necessary.

"Good to be back, I haven't been here in months I wonder how everyone is doing?" they mused aloud.

"I'd better get something to eat then head home," the muttered as they walked through the terminal.

Later that night

Reina was sitting in the living room feeling bored, she felt her Decks were ready, she knew she'd square off against Josh in the finals at some point or another, she felt it in her gut.

A familiar face appeared on the T.V. and Reina grinned. "EVERYBODY LISTEN!" the M.C. yelled.

"As all you duelists know the tournament is nearly here and is Leon Archer to tell you more about the event to be!" he cried.

Archer's face appeared on the screen and Reina snarled. "Hello one and all duelists and spectators alike, as you all know the tournament to decide the person who will be crowned King of Dueling in New Domino City is coming up shortly," he said.

"Just get on with it you freak," Reina snarled.

Archer smirked almost as if he'd heard what Reina had said. "It shall be called Battle for the Crown," he said. "And its battleground will be this whole city!"

"Ground and Turbo Dueling are allowed but this tournament will be single style elimination, in other words if you lose just once it's over for you, and don't forget we have anyone who enters Duel Disk signal so if you lose we'll know it!" he said. "That will be all more will be revealed once eight remain!"

Archer's face disappeared and the program went back to normal. Reina scowled. "I'm going to face you Archer come Hell or high water," she whispered.

The day of the tournament

Anyone who wanted to enter the tournament had to report to one of several stations to register by noon. Reina stood in front of a man in a grey suit sitting behind a computer. Her Duel Disk was hooked up to the computer and the man was tapping things in. "Ok Ms. Fudo you're officially entered have fun," the man smiled.

Reina walked off. She had a feeling there was going to be very little fun to be had in this tournament or at least when it came time to face whoever Archer would've entered. "Have fun he says," she muttered sitting down on a bench.

"You do know that talking to yourself is the sign of insanity," someone chuckled.

Reina turned in the direction of the voice to see who'd said that and gasped. "Uncle Leo!" she cried happily.

The man before her appeared to be in his early thirties with blue-green hair tied into a short ponytail high on the back of his head, he was dressed in a short sleeved white jacket over a blue shirt with a yellow marking on the front with white pants and blue sneakers. "It's good to see you're doing alright Reina," he grinned.

Reina walked over to the older man and hugged him "How've you been," she asked.

"I've been good," he said after Reina stopped hugging him and the pair sat on the bench. "So have you entered the tournament?"

"Do you really need to ask," Reina chuckled.

"I guess not, but are you sure it's safe, I mean your parents told me about Archer, man that was really hard to believe but I guess his position just attract evil like a magnet," Leo said clenching his fist so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"I'll be fine, I've got my mom's powers and my dad's invulnerability," Reina chuckled. "So have you entered?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss a chance to be crowned King of New Domino if Seto Kaiba himself offered me his Blue-Eyes White Dragons!" Leo declared dramatically

A large drop of sweat ran down the side of Reina's head. _"He's still such a ham,"_ she thought. "So how long have you been back in town and when did you sign up?" she asked aloud.

"Oh I've only been back for a bit, and what do you mean signed up?" he asked.

"I mean you have to go to a station and register your Duel Disk with the tournament committee or whoever those suits are!" Reina shouted. "And you only have until noon!"

Leo blinked a few times then jumped up and ran down the street to where Reina had entered and dashed in. After a few minutes he came out and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Thanks for telling me Reina that would've sucked not to have been entered."

Reina just shook her head. "I have an idea," she grinned.

"And what would that be?" Leo asked. "Your ideas can be a tad crazy, I think you've been spending too much time around Crow."

"No it's not anything crazy and what's wrong with Crow?" Reina replied. "No, Leo I challenge you to a duel!"

Leo seemed to think for a second then grinned. "Sure I'd be a pleasure, but don't cry when I knock you out of the tournament in your first duel!"

"No this time I'll be winning I don't have any doubts about it, and hey even if I do you lose to you again then so what wouldn't be the first time," Reina shrugged.

They stood several paces apart and grinned. A large digital clock nearby read 11:59 a.m. so the two would be able to officially duel in a minute, then the time changed and it now displayed 12:00 pm, they both grinned and activated their Duel Disks.

"Duel!" the both shouted.

**(Reina: 8000) ---- (Leo: 8000)**

From out of nowhere came a large group of women and men all wearing t-shirts with Leo's face on them or Power Tool Dragon's head on them. "Leo, Leo, he's the man if he can't win it no one can!" the chanted.

"What in the….?" Reina muttered. "Is this your fan club or something?"

Leo rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Ya they always seem to know when I'm going to duel and somehow they always find me, I've gotten used to them by now."

"Kick her butt Leo-poo!" one woman shouted.

"Did someone just call you Leo-poo?" Reina asked before she burst out laughing. She held her sides and had trouble standing up. "Ha, ha, ha, that has got to be the funniest thing I've heard of since Rob turned everyone in his chemistry class blue!" she howled.

Leo face palmed. He'd expected that, he may have gotten used to the more crazed fans but his opponent's always got a laugh from them. "Oh well no matter, well Reina whenever you stop laughing you can go first," he said.

Reina stopped laughing save for the occasional giggle. "Sorry that was kind of rude, but it was funny," she said. "Like you said I'll be starting this off!"

"And this time Leo, I will win!" she declared as she drew her sixth card. "I'll set a monster on the defensive and then set two cards face down and end my turn," three brown backed cards appeared in front of Reina.

"Not a bad opening move," Leo grinned. "I'll start off with a classic come forth Morphtronic Celfon!" in a burst o flight appeared a large yellow cell phone. It changed to reveal it was actually a robot with a disk shaped head. (ATK 100/DEF 100)

"Now I'll activate his effect, Dial On!" Leo shouted along with several people in the crowd.

"Now I can….," Leo began.

"I know what that thing does you roll a six sided die in the form of the numbers on that things chest and then whatever number comes up you pick up that many cards off the top of your Deck, then you may select one level four or lower Morphtronic monster among them ignoring the Summoning conditions, I really don't get those last two parts all that well," Reina explained.

"Hey little girl!" one of the people in the crowd snarled. "Never interrupt Leo when he's about to speak!"

Leo sighed and was about to say something when Rein raised her hand to silence him. "WHY DON'T YOU SHUT UP!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "You fans can be so annoying, I interrupted him because I've dueled him before and he's played that monster every single time."

The man stepped back and flinched. _"Man she really knows how do deal with annoying fans, maybe I could ask her for some help on that matter, or get a bodyguard like Crow suggested,"_ Leo chuckled mentally.

"Although I don't agree they're annoying, well to me anyway, you hit the nail on the head, Leo chuckled. "So I'll say it again but with some feeling this time, Dial On activate!" the numbers on Celfon's chest began to flash and then they stopped and one was lit up, it was three.

"Three not a bad number," Leo muttered pulling three cards off the top of his Deck. He looked them over for a moment and grinned. _"Good things are in my future,"_ he thought. "Ok I'll pick Morphtronic Magen in defense mode!" a large blue U shaped magnet floated onto the field, an electric aura began to crack around it. (ATK 800/DEF 800)

"Now let me guess," Reina sighed. "You'll set some kind of face down card that can negate an attack then you'll summon another Magen and figure out some way to move it into defense mode."

"Actually no," Leo grinned much to Reina's surprise. "I have much better combo, I equip Magen with Heart of Clear Water, so now he can't be destroyed by battle or by effects that target," a teardrop shaped orange gem appeared attached to Magen.

"Now I'll set a card face down and, turn end," he said.

Reina drew and scowled. _"Where's a Spell and Trap destruction card when you need it,"_ she sighed. _"Well nothing I can do."_

"I'll pass," she sighed.

Leo drew and smirked. "I summon good old Morphtronic Chakkan!" a large orange light floated onto the field and like Celfon it transformed in a robot with a large cannon sticking out of its head. (ATK 1200/DEF 600)

"Ugh I hate that thing," Reina groaned. "Let me guess you have some way to generate ammo for that thing in your hand?"

"Yep, but I can't use it right now so I'll set a card face down and end my turn by switching Celfon to defense mode," Leo grinned as Celfon switched forms and became a cell phone again.

Reina sighed, she really didn't know what to do, the card she needed could be on the bottom of her Deck. "I'll pass again."

Leo drew and grinned widely. "Ok time to unveil the card I'm going to use to generate ammunition for Chakkan, my Jam Breeding Machine!" with a hiss of steam a large device rose onto the field. "During each of my Standby Phases I'll get a Slime Token, it'll be an Aqua type, water attribute, level one monster with 500 attack and defense points of course I can't summon in any way since I have this card active," he explained.

"For now I'll move Chakkan to defense mode and use that mode's effect to hit you for 300 points of damage!" Chakkan changed back into its item form and released a burst of flames that struck Reina, who didn't as much as flinch.

**(Reina: 7700) ---- (Leo: 8000)**

"_After those two Darkness Games I hardly felt that,"_ she thought.

"Ok turn end," Leo said.

Reina drew and scowled, she still had nothing that could break his combo, and by the time she did get something it may be too late. "Once again I pass," she sighed.

"For all your big talk you can't do much against Leo," a fan sneered and Reina silenced them with a glare.

Leo drew and with a hiss of steam a blob of blue gel floated out of the machine. (ATK 500/DEF 500) "Ok first things first, Chakkan I activate your defense mode effect!" Chakkan released another burst of flames and again Reina was unaffected.

**(Reina: 7400) ---- (Leo: 8000)**

"Now I'll move him to attack mode and release my Slime Token to hit you for 600 points of damage!" the blob dissolved into motes of light that were sucked into the Pyro, the cannon on its head glowed and fired a larger burst of flames!

**(Reina: 6800) ---- (Leo: 8000)**

"Now I'll activate my face down Trap card Battle Dance!" the oddly named Trap card flipped open revealing a picture of Toy Magician dancing with Otohime.

Several question marks appeared above Reina's head, partly because of the odd artwork and because she'd never heard of this card before. "Ok mind explaining its effect to me, and where did you get it?" she asked.

"I got it out of a pack and as to what it does you'll have to wait," Leo grinned, but Reina didn't like it.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," he said.

Reina sighed and drew but then a smile spread across her face. "Read it and weep Leo, I just drew Mystical Space Typhoon so goodbye Heart of Clear Water!" a cyclone tore across the field straight at the Spell card.

"So close and yet so far," Leo chuckled. "Reveal face down card Magic Jammer, so now your Mystical Space Typhoon is gone, it becomes a gentle breeze and all it costs me is one card," Leo grinned as the cyclone dissipated.

Reina gritted her teeth. _"Damn it!"_ she screamed in her head. _"This damn combo is really pissing me off, if I could just draw her I could break it!"_

"I'll end my turn," Reina sighed.

**(Reina: 6800) ---- (Leo: 7700)**

"As you can see my Battle Dance costs me 300 Life Points, but believe me its worth it," he grinned.

"Ok to start things off I get another Slime Token!" another blob of gel appeared. "Now I'll move Chakkan to defense mode and enact his effect!" Chakkan released another burst of fire.

**(Reina: 6500) ---- (Leo: 7700)**

"Now I'll move him back into attack mode!" Leo cried and Reina gasped as Chakkan changed from his lighter from to his robot form.

"Hey that's cheating, only one manual mode change of a monster is allowed per turn!" Reina protested.

"Yes but my Battle Dance allows me once per turn change the mode of any monster on my side of the field, even if that monster has already had its mode changed," Leo grinned. "As for the odd name, because I know you were thinking that, it was created by a Morphtronic duelist who faced a Toy duelist or something like that."

"But now that Chakkan is back in attack mode you know that that means?" he grinned even wider.

"Oh crap, I'm going to get nailed for 900 points of damage each of your turns!" Reina gasped.

"Give the lady her prize!" Leo shouted. "Chakkan Fire!" Chakkan released another blast of flames from its cannon striking Reina.

**(Reina: 5900) ---- (Leo: 7700)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Leo said.

Reina drew and her grin returned. "I activate Rose Selection, this handy Spell card allows me to add a 'Rose' monster from my Deck to my hand!" a card slid out of Reina's Deck and she smirked. "Only thing is I can't play it this turn, so I'll end my turn but since I have seven cards in my hand I'll discard one," she said dropping a card into her Graveyard

"_What could she have added to her hand?"_ Leo asked himself. Reina had plenty of monsters with Rose in their names, but none of them could help her now, he just shrugged and drew.

**(Reina: 5900) ---- (Leo: 7400)**

"Ok again another Token is created," another blob appeared out of the machine. "Then I'll move Chakkan into defense mode and activate that effect," another burst of flames hit Reina, she was starting to get really annoyed by that.

**(Reina: 5600) ---- (Leo: 7400)**

"Again I move Chakkan into attack mode and give up my Slime Token to hit you for 600!" Chakkan fired another blast of flames from its cannon and Reina snarled.

**(Reina: 5000) ---- (Leo: 7400)**

"With that my turn is over," Leo said with a slight smirk.

Reina drew and smirked. "Ok Leo, time for you to meet one of my newest monsters the Cruel Angel – Queen of Rose, and to call her forth I'll be releasing my face down Revival Rose!" the face down monster that had been sitting their for the whole duel disappeared and a twister of rose petals kicked up.

From the tempest emerged a woman in a red and white but mostly red dress that looked like something some long ago, on her back was a pair of wings made of rose petals and in her hand was a large broad sword. (ATK 2400/DEF 1300)

Leo arched an eyebrow. "Let me guess you noticed she's a level seven monster right?" Reina asked with a devilish grin and Leo nodded. "Well she has a powerful effect, and she can be Advance Summoned by releasing a Plant type monster," she explained.

"Until then I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina said.

**(Reina: 5000) ---- (Leo: 7100)**

Leo drew and looked suspiciously at Reina's new monster. Then her face down card lifted up and a clear barrier surrounded Reina. "Reveal Trap card Hallowed Life Barrier, so I ditch a card and for this turn only I can't be damaged from your monsters or card effects," Reina said.

Leo scowled. "Ok I'll just move Chakkan to defense mode and Special Summon the Slime Token in defense mode as well," he said as Chakkan shifted to the lighter form and the blob it was hard to tell if it was defending or not.

Reina drew and Queen of Rose flew into the air. "Since it's my Standby Phase my Queen's effect activates and the monster on the field with the lowest attack points is destroyed, and that would be your Celfon, go Rose Petal Storm!" Queen of Rose spread her wings and unleashed literally a storm of petals. They struck Celfon causing it to shatter.

"Since I still can't attack I'll end my turn, but come my next turn that'll change," Reina grinned. "So my turn is over."

**(Reina: 5000) ---- (Leo: 7100)**

Leo gulped as another ball of gel appeared. "Ok I'll activate Chakkan's defense mode effect," Chakkan released yet another blast of flames.

**(Reina: 4700) ---- (Leo: 7100)**

"Ok now I'll give up my newest Slime Token to activate Chakkan's attack mode effect, go Chakkan Fire!" the newest blob of gel vanished and other burst of flames was released from the cannon.

**(Reina: 4100) ---- (Leo: 7100)**

"Now thanks to the effect of my Battle Dance I can move Chakkan back into defense mode," Leo grinned as Chakkan switched back to its item mode.

"And with that, turn end," he sighed.

While Reina was dueling Leo Vincent was just walking around. "Well that duel was boring it didn't fire me up at all," he sighed. "That guy was such a wimp."

He noticed a crowed up ahead, it was in a circle around something and Vincent thought it might be another duel. He ran over and scowled, it definitely wasn't a duel.

No it was a street performer, a petite girl with long blonde hair that traveled down to her back, she had light green eyes and was dressed in a loose fitting red shirt and a pair of baggy black pants. She was balancing on a large ball and juggling several multicoloured balls.

Vincent arched an eyebrow, he felt like he'd met this girl before. He shook his head, those crazy dreams were getting to him, this time he'd dueled the duelist with the strange Hero Archetype again, only this time it'd a tag duel, his partner used a Deck similar to Marik Ishtar had used. The Hero duelist's partner had used Ninjas.

The girl jumped off the ball and let the ones she was juggling fall into a backpack she'd picked up. She bowed and people began to clap and throw money into a box that was sitting on the sidewalk.

The crowd dispersed moments later and Vincent was left alone. He looked around and then blinked in confusion. "Are you lost kid?" the girl asked in a gentle voice.

"Huh," Vincent said blinking in confusion.

"I asked are you lost, you know is this your first time in New Domino?" she asked bending down to pick up a Duel Disk that Vincent hadn't noticed.

A card slid off the top and Vincent picked it up and gasped. The card was Celestia, Lightsworn Angel. Vincent gasped and stepped back. The girl looked annoyed and snatched the card away from him. "What are you scared of this monster?" she asked with a grin.

"Kind of," Vincent muttered in response. "I've faced Lightsworns before, I got my ass handed to me on a silver platter."

"That does tend to happen to the people I face, except the ones who prepared in advance, and one other person," the said muttering the last part sadly.

"So, you're not, you know in the tournament?" Vincent asked nervously.

The girl smirked. "Nope, can't say I am," she shrugged. "He is though," she said pointing behind Vincent.

He gasped and jumped back nearly slamming into the girl. Standing behind him was a man who looked like he was in his early twenties, with spiky white hair much like Vincent, although this guy had some grey to his it, he had amber coloured eyes and his face was set into a scowl. He was dressed in a black t-shirt a black vest and a pair of jeans that had seen better days, on his arm was obviously a Duel Disk, but it looked odd. It was jet back and looked like a modified Battle City style Duel Disk.

"So you're in the tournament," the guy said, his voice was deep and seemed to command authority and he seemed to radiate a powerful aura.

"Yes and bye!" Vincent shouted before running off.

"I think you scared him Solo," the girl chuckled.

The guy apparently named Solo just shrugged. "I wasn't meant to duel him, now have you seen Joshua Atlas?" he asked and the girl only shook her head.

Reina grinned as she drew. "Ok Queen you know what to do!" the Queen spread her wings again and this time the storm of rose petals sliced the Slime Token to nothing.

"Next turn you'll have nothing to protect your Magen," Reina smirked. "So I'll end my turn."

**(Reina: 4100) ---- (Leo: 6800)**

"Reina I never give up, no matter how bad it looks for me, Hell I wasn't ready to quit when I faced Lucciano, both times!" Leo declared proudly. "Go I'll activate Chakkan's defense effect yet again!" Chakkan released another blast of fire causing Reina to snarl.

**(Reina: 3800) ---- (Leo: 6800)**

"Hmmm, now what to do, I could keep burning you and stalling, but you might draw Heavy Storm or Dust Tornado, so I'll move Chakkan into attack mode, then I release my Slime Token to blast your Life Points….again!" Chakkan switched forms again and released another ball of fire at Reina.

**(Reina: 3200) ---- (Leo: 6800)**

"Thanks to Battle Dance Chakkan is going right back to defense mode!" Chakkan switched forms again and Leo waved his hand to signal the end of his turn after sliding a card into the Spell and Trap zone.

Reina drew and the Cruel Angel released another blast of rose petals that were about to slice Magen to pieces.

"Reveal face down card, Emergency Provision!" Leo cried. "I'll get rid of Jam Breeding Machine, Mist Body and Battle Dance!" the three named cards dissolved into motes of light that surrounded Leo.

**(Reina: 3200) ---- (Leo: 9800)**

"I was prepared just in case you had some means of destroying all of my Spell and Trap cards, cool huh?" Leo asked with an impish grin.

"Man I hate it when dad is right," Reina sighed. "You really have improved, but I won't quit just yet. I beat Mel when she had over 10,000 Life Points before, it was not easy."

"I have to admit Reina, considering the two people who taught you to duel if you could make some kind of awesome come back, that would only encourage me to do better!" he shouted his eyes blazing with determination…..and fire.

"I summon Twilight Rose Knight!" in a burst of energy appeared a young girl in black armor with light blue hair, holding a sword. (ATK 1000/DEF 1000)

"Now thanks to her effect I get to call out a level four or lower Plant type monster from my hand, and I'm calling out my Botanical Girl!" Reina slapped the card onto her Duel Disk and a girl in clothes made of plant matter floated onto the field. (ATK 1300/DEF 1100)

"Ok Twilight Rose Knight lead the charge with your Night Rose Blade!" the young knight screamed and slashed Chakkan cutting the robot in two.

"Go Queen of Rose, attack him directly with your Rose Trimmer!" the winged Plant monster took to the air and flew at Leo.

"I activate Dimensional Prison, so now your Queen is banished to the Different Dimension!" a large tear in the fabric of reality opened and Queen of Rose flew in.

"Well that sucks, but you should've saved that," Reina grinned.

"You don't mean….?" Leo asked taking a step back.

"Yes, but first Botanical Girl attack him directly!" the girl dressed in plants floated forward and cupped Leo's chin causing him to blush slightly, then she punched him in the gut.

**(Reina: 3200) ---- (Leo: 8500)**

"Now reveal face down card, Urgent Tuning, so now I can Synchro Summon during the Battle Phase!" Reina shouted as her face down card lifted up. "So I'll tune my level three, Twilight Rose Knight with my level three, Botanical Girl…!"

"_Clustering radiance combines to create a new light! Become the path light is born upon! Appear now, Splendid Rose!"_

Twilight Rose Knight jumped into the air and became three green rings. They surrounded Botanical Girl who was reduced to orange framework.

From the burst of light appeared the blonde female dressed in green. (ATK 2200/DEF 2000)

"Splendid Rose do your thing, Rose Twister!" Splendid Rose began to spin around releasing a tornado of rose petals that slammed into Leo causing him to stumble back.

**(Reina: 3200) ---- (Leo: 6300)**

"And I'm not done yet, I activate Splendid Rose's effect and remove from play a Plant type monster, and my Botanical Girl fits that category," Reina began. "And after that her attack points are halved and she gets another shot at your Life Points!" (ATK 2200-1100/DEF 2000)

Splendid Rose began to spin again and Leo staggered from the onslaught. "Ugh, good thing I padded my points or I'd be in serious trouble right now," he sighed.

**(Reina: 3200) ---- (Leo: 5200)**

"I'll end my turn with two face down cards," Reina said. "So was that comeback awesome enough for you?" (ATK 1100-2200/DEF 2000)

"Oh ya, but I won't surrender I'll fight on and I'll win!" Leo declared. "Now it's my turn, draw!"

His grin widened considerably. "Oh ya time to summon my star!" he shouted excitedly. "I activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and Leo pulled three cards off her Deck and handed her two others.

"Now I'll activate Monster Reborn and revive Morphtronic Scopen in attack mode!" the newest robot was a large microscope, it quickly assumed its more humanoid form. (ATK 800/DEF 1400)

"Now I'm calling forth Morphtronic Boomboxen!" the monster that appeared was a large red radio cassette player, like its bothers or sisters, Reina couldn't remember if these things even had genders, it shifted forms into a humanoid mode.

"Now I tune my level three, Morphtronic Scopen with my level four, Morphtronic Boomboxen….," he began with a goofy grin on his face.

_"Docking strength with courage to protect world peace! Synchro Summon! Envoy of love and justice, Power Tool Dragon!"_

Scopen became three Synchro gates and Boomboxen jumped into them becoming orange framework.

From the burst of light appeared a powerful looking monster. With yellow and silver armor and a Dragonic shaped body, in place of a hand on one arm it had a large scoop and on the back of the other arm was a large screwdriver. (ATK 2300/DEF 2500)

"Now I'll activate Power Tool Dragon's effect!" three cards were spat out of his Deck. "I pick three equip cards from my Deck and then you select one of them and I add it to my hand," he explained holding up the three cards.

"Ok I'll pick the middle one!" Reina declared.

"Why thank you Reina, Leo said placing the cards with the others he held. "I'll activate two cards, the first is Double Tool C&D!" Power Tool Dragon's shovel arm turned into a large circular saw and the screwdriver turned into a drill.

"Now I equip him with Mage Power!" a powerful yellow aura began to surround Power Tool Dragon and Reina's eyes widened in horror. (ATK 2300-3300/DEF 2500-3500) "As you likely remember this Equip Spell increases Power Tool's attack and defense points by 500 times the number of Spell and Trap cards I have, and that would be two!"

"Power Tool Dragon attack her Splendid Rose with Crafty Break, and just to remind you Reina when a monster equipped with Double Tool attacks it gains 1000 attack points and any effects your monster has are negated!" (ATK 3300-4300/DEF 3500) Power Tool Dragon flew forward and used the circular saw to cleave Splendid Rose in two.

**(Reina: 1100) ---- (Leo: 5200)**

"Now I'll set one card face down and end my turn," Leo grinned. (ATK 4300-3800/DEF 3500-4000)

Reina drew and Leo's face down card flipped open. "Reveal face down card Power Break!" Power Tool Dragon raised his weapons over his head as energy was channelled into his weapons. "Now I return up to three Equip Spell cards to their owner's Deck and you take 500 points of damage per!" the aura and Double Tool shattered as Leo added them back to his Deck. The energy Power Tool Dragon had been gathering surged forward and struck Reina causing her to stumble back. (ATK 3800-2300/DEF 4000-2500)

**(Reina: 100) ---- (Leo: 5200)**

Reina looked at the card she'd draw and smirked. "I activate one of my face down cards Call of the Haunted so give it up for Splendid Rose!" the female Synchro monster dressed in green pulled herself out of the ground.

"Now I'll summon the Tuner monster Spore!" the next monster to appear was a large ball of white fluff with large round eyes. (ATK 400/DEF 800)

Leo smiled, his sister had this monster in her Deck, who knows maybe she'd given it to Reina she hardly ever dueled anymore.

"I'll tune my level one, Spore and my level six, Splendid Rose…," Reina began.

"_Clustering wishes will ignite to create a fiery new force! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"_

Spore closed its eyes and burst releasing the single green rings. It surrounded Splendid Rose and she became orange framework.

Black Rose Dragon spread her wings and roared, she then looked down at Leo and smiled or grinned, it was hard to tell. (ATK 2400/DEF 1800)

"Now I activate Half Shut, this is the card that'll bring about the end of this duel," Reina said with a smile. "I select one monster on the field and its attack points are halved and it can't be destroyed by battle until the end of this turn, and of course I'll be picking Power Tool Dragon!" a ball of energy flew out of the Spell card striking the mechanical Dragon causing it to shrink. (ATK 2300-1150/DEF 2500)

"Black Rose Dragon attack Power Tool Dragon with Black Rose Flare!" Black Rose Dragon fired her burning attack striking the metal Dragon and Leo.

**(Reina: 100) ---- (Leo: 3950)**

"I'm still in this Reina," Leo said grinning broadly. "So unless that last face down card can allow you to attack twice I may still win this yet!"

Reina's looked at the last face down card. "Uncle Leo," she said softly. "I'm going to win, I'm going to make it to the finals no matter what, just please don't be angry at me, please. Reveal face down cards Rush Recklessly and Synchro Halo, this card allows Black Rose Dragon to attack again since she failed to destroy your monster and it'll double her attack points until the End Phase!" a ring of energy surrounded Black Rose Dragon. (ATK 2400-5500/DEF 1800)

"Black Rose Dragon end this with Final Black Rose Flare!" Black Rose Dragon nodded and fired another tongue of flames, twice as large the last one, it engulfed Leo and Power Tool Dragon, one of them still had a grin on his face, even in defeat.

**(Reina: 100) ---- (Leo: 0)**

The holograms faded and Leo looked at Reina with a look that was hard to determine. The last person she'd used that combo on had called her a cheater. He walked over to her and Reina just stared at her feet. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

"You're sorry?" Leo asked in a noticeably cheery voice. "You won fair and square, I've even seen a combo similar to that one used before only be a different Fudo and with a different Dragon. Reina that was the most fun duel I've had in a long while thank you!" he grinned shaking her hand.

"Now I'm starved, I haven't eaten since ten a.m. so I wish you and your friends, _especially_ Zeke good luck," Leo grinned as he walked away his fans following him.

Reina blushed. "I think mom or dad told him I had a crush on him when I was little," she muttered as she walked off.

**Reina: I loved that duel ending combo.**

**Josh: Even I'll admit it was good.**

**Rob: It was similar the one her dad used to beat her mom in their second duel.**

**Melissa: Who were those two? **

**Vincent: The people I met, I have no clue the guy freaked me out.**

**Alexandria: Well it doesn't matter because Josh is dueling next, but we know he'll win.**

**Zeke: He may not because the title is Dragon Slayer.**

**Josh: Could this guy have….?**

A/N: Morphtronic Chakkan or Deformer Chakkan is actually known as Morphtronic Datatron in the TCG but that makes little to no sense.

**Original Cards**

Battle Dance

Image: Otohime dancing with Toy Magician.

| Continuous Trap | Pay 300 Life Points during each of your Standby Phases. If you do not destroy this card. As long as this card remains face up, you may once per turn alter the battle mode of a monster whose mode has already been changed.

Rose Selection

Image: A hand reaching into a pile of cards and pulling out Witch of the Black Rose.

| Spell | Select one 'Rose' monster from your Deck and add it to your hand. (You may not summon or set the selected monster this turn.)

Synchro Halo

Image: Gaia Knight the Force of Earth charging forward surrounded by a ring of white energy.

| Trap | Activate only by selecting 1 Synchro Monster you control, after it attacked an opponent's monster and did not destroy it by battle. The selected monster's ATK is doubled until the End Phase and it can attack once more during the same Battle Phase.

(This card was used by Yusei Fudo in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 41 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode, it's name is Synchro Ring in the English version.)


	20. Ch20: Dragon Slayer

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twenty: Dragon Slayer

It had been several hours since the tournament had begun and Reina was currently relaxing at home, taking a brake from dueling, but someone she knew was dueling.

Josh with Alexandria close behind was just finishing up the duel. "Red Dragon attack him directly with Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon Archfiend attacked Josh's opponent directly causing them to scream as their Life Points hit zero.

"That was pathetic," Josh spat as he walked off.

"That was amazing Josh, I mean Mr. Atlas," Alexandria cheered.

"Alexandria please I don't mind if you call me Josh, we are dating after all, even if your dad gives me the evil eye when he thinks I'm not looking," Josh said.

"I know, well your father and my father never did get along well so it kind of makes sense," Alexandria chuckled rubbing the back of her head.

"I need to find someone strong to duel," Josh sighed. "Otherwise this'll be really boring until the finals."

"I'm sure you'll find someone strong," Alexandria said reassuringly. "I know why don't you challenge Zeke Kessler, if you remember from the data I got on him, he's very strong."

"That might not be a bad idea," Josh mused. "But when I defeat him, well Reina would probably be pissed and she wouldn't duel at her fullest in the finals."

"Ok how about Robert Hogan, he too is a strong duelist, I mean he managed to defeat Ami, who other than me is your strongest duelist," Alexandria said.

"Hmmm, maybe I should duel that birdbrain," Josh chuckled. "Not a bad idea Alexandria! Oh ya we do need to find you an opponent."

"You want someone strong to duel!" someone shouted.

Josh and Alexandria spun around and came face to face, literally in Alexandria's case to the blonde girl Vincent had met before. "Who are you?" Alexandria asked.

The girl grinned. "I'm the one of the most deadly duelists to come to New Domino since the Infinity Trio arrived here twenty years ago," the girl said. "I'm Angela Cross, professional street performer and all around excellent duelist!"

"Does Seto Kaiba know you have an ego bigger than his?" Josh asked.

"Maybe I've dueled Kaiba before," Angela smirked.

"Let me guess even in his old age he crushed you flat," Josh laughed.

"Yes that's absolutely true, he beat me senseless, and he was pissed when I took control of his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon," Angela chuckled rubbing the back of her head.

"So are you going to challenge Josh?" Alexandria asked.

"Me, no I'm not entered in the tournament, I just enjoy making a grand introduction!" Angela laughed and Josh and Alexandria fell forward with a loud crash.

"Then who were you talking about you psycho!" Josh growled.

"She was talking about me," someone said. "Also call her a psycho again and I'll punch out a few of your teeth!"

Josh turned around and was met with Solo the young man Vincent had run into and run away from earlier. "You want to challenge me, you don't look so tough," Josh scoffed.

"Famous last words," Solo sneered. "I promise you, you've never fought a duelist of my calibre. I eat duelists of Seto Kaiba's dueling strength for breakfast."

"Bold words from someone who's ass I'm about to kick up and down the street!" Josh smirked activating his Duel Disk.

"Bring it on fool," Solo smirked.

"Duel!" they both cried.

**(Josh: 8000) - (Solo: 8000)**

"So do you have a name?" Josh asked drawing five cards.

"I do, but I only tell people who are worthy of hearing it, right now you are not one of those people, and I'll be going first!" Solo announced pulling the sixth card off the top of his Deck.

"I'll set a monster face down and end my turn," Solo said. "Show me what you've got."

Josh blinked in confusion a few times then drew his sixth card. "Heh, you think you're so tough but that was a pretty basic opening," he smirked. "I'm going to show you a real opening move, meet Luster Dragon!" in a flash of blue light appeared a Dragon that seemed to be sculpted out of sapphire. (ATK 1900/DEF 1600)

"Attack his face down monster with Sapphire Slasher!" Luster Dragon snarled and leapt forward cutting the face down card in half and revealing it was a large rat holding a skull.

"Thank you because by destroying my Giant Rat you've allowed me to Special Summon an earth attribute monster with 1500 or less attack points in attack mode," Solo grinned, which seemed to hurt his face. "And just to let you onto a little secret, about ninety percent of the monsters in my Deck fit into that category!"

Josh and Alexandria gasped and Angela just smiled. "What do you mean, how can that many of the monsters in your Deck be that weak?" Josh demanded.

"Because my monsters may be weak but when used right they're deadly!" Solo laughed, this also seemed to cause him pain as he started to cough after moment. "I've only been defeated three times and those three just barely won!"

"Whatever just get on with your move," Josh growled.

"Gladly, and the monster you shall meet will be the one who will destroy you absolutely is called Lone Fighter!" Solo walked forward a few steps and was engulfed in a whirlwind of light.

The light exploded outwards to reveal Solo had changed. He was dressed in sleeveless tan shirt and a blue vest, he wore baggy blue pants, around his neck was a white scarf, and on his right fist was a studded knuckle duster. (ATK 1200/DEF 1200)

"What in the Hell, you're the monster, and you're a weak level five monster at that," Josh said. "What gives, do you have some kind of deadly effect?"

"More or less," Solo shrugged as a card slid out of his Deck. "Now are you going to do anything else or end your turn?

"I'll set a card face down and then I'll end my turn," Josh said. "What are you some kind of cosplayer?"

"I get that a lot," Solo muttered drawing his next card. "Most people say that before I beat them into the ground!"

"You might not have picked up on this, but the card that was added to my hand was an Equip Spell card, when Lone Warrior is summon I get to take any from my Deck and add it to my hand," he explained.

"Now I'll equip myself with the might Fusion Sword Murasame Blade increasing my attacking power by 800!" a familiar glowing katana appeared on Solo's back. (ATK 1200-2000/DEF 1200)

"Now I'll activate the Field Spell Unlimited Blade Works!" the street began to warp and shift and change until the four found themselves standing in a barren field with numerous weapons sticking out of the ground.

"Where are we?" Josh asked looking around. "I've never seen this Field Spell before!"

"I'm doubtful you would have, it is only useful to a handful of Deck types, mine is one of them, for you see my skipping our Draw Phase we may add any Equip Spell or Union monster from our Deck to our hand," Solo explained. "I doubt you have many if any Equip Spell cards in your Deck and as far as I know, no Union monster that I've heard of benefits Dragon types."

"But for now I will go on the attack!" Solo announced sliding the cards he held into his pocket. He charged forward and drew his blade. "Now die!" he roared before cleaving Luster Dragon in two.

**(Josh: 7900) - (Solo: 8000)**

Solo sheathed his sword and pulled his cards out of his pocket. (ATK 2000-2100/DEF 1200) "Just to tell you I grow stronger with each kill, by 100 attack points," he explained.

"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," he smirked.

"Don't act so high and mighty yet!" Josh growled. "I've taken down stronger monsters than you!"

"I activate Polymerization and fuse my Dragonic Fusion Supporter and my Divine Dragon Ragnarok to form the mighty King Dragun!" the wispy Dragon and the Dragon statue were pulled into the vortex. From it came the half human half Dragon creature. (ATK 2400/DEF 1100)

"Now I'll activate Dragon Draw, and since the only type of monster I control is Dragon type I get to draw twice!" King Dragun began to glow and Josh pulled two cards off the top of his Deck.

"King Dragon roast his monster with Fire Scourge!" King Dragun put the Flute of Summoning Dragons to his lips and fired a huge tongue of flames from it engulfing Solo.

**(Josh: 7900) - (Solo: 7700)**

"Heh, that monster wasn't that tough," Josh scoffed, but as the smoke began to clear he gasped, along with Alexandria.

Solo was still in the form of Lone Fighter, his arms were crossed over his chest and he had a smirk on his face. "That kind of tickled," he smirked.

"B…b…but how did your form survive?" Josh stuttered.

"Simple really, it's my other special effect, so long as I'm the only monster on my side of the field I cannot be destroyed by battle, damage calculation applies normally," Solo explained. "So care you end your turn so I can continue to crush you?"

"Your monster is too weak to beat King Dragun, so why should I be afraid?" Josh asked.

"You'll find out why very soon," Solo grinned causing Josh to step back.

"Fine I end my turn," Josh growled.

"Through the effect of my Unlimited Blade Works I give up my Draw Phase and add Laplace Spirit of the Sword to my hand!" a single card slid out of Solo's Deck.

"Now I summon Laplace!" in a burst of electricity appeared a truly odd looking monster. For the most part it had no physical body, what passed for a body for this creature was really electricity, and somehow over that was brown chest and shoulder armor. (ATK 1100/DEF 900)

"Morning boss," Laplace yawned. "Is it time to fight again already?" the electric spirit asked.

"Wait how come your attack points didn't drop?" Josh asked. "You have a monster, so shouldn't your effect be rendered invalid?"

"Yes right now I am not indestructible to battle and if I destroyed a monster I wouldn't gain any attack points, but no I don't lose any attack points if a new monster is summoned," Solo explained. "Now I activate Laplace's effect and equip him to myself!" Laplace vanished in his place appeared a large sword with a bladed shaped like a raging flame appeared and Solo took hold of it. (ATK 2100-2400/DEF 1200-1500)

"I gain 300 attack and defense points and if I destroy a monster and send it to the Graveyard I can attack again so long as I attack another monster, and now I'll activate Ojama Trio!" from the Trap card appeared three flashes of light, they took the form of three odd looking monsters, one was green with a single large eyes, another was black with a large nose and the last was yellow with two eyestalks, they all wore red bikini briefs. (ATK 0/DEF 1000) x3

"Give me and O!" the green on yelled.

"Give me a J!" the yellow one shouted.

"Give me an AMA!" the black one cried.

"What's that spell?" they all yelled. "It spells Ojama!" the three shouted in unison

"As you can see you know get three Ojama Tokens, level two, Beast Type light attribute, they can't be used as a release for an Advance Summon, and if they're destroyed you take 300 points of damage," Solo explained with a wolfish grin.

"Now I'll attack!" he declared raising the sword he'd gotten from Laplace. He charged forward and was about to cleave one of the Ojama Tokens in two when Josh's face down card flipped open.

"Reveal Sakuretsu Armor!" the mysterious Fiend appeared and charged at Solo who only smirked.

"Reveal Destruction Jammer, so now all I have to do is discard and card and I can negate the activate of a Spell, Trap or monster effect that would destroy even one monster and destroy the card," Solo kicked the Fiend in the face causing it to shatter like glass.

"Now my attack continues!" Solo sliced the green Token in two and a small explosion hit Josh. (ATK 2400-2500/DEF 1500)

**(Josh: 7600) - (Solo: 7700)**

"And I'll attack again!" Solo roared swinging his weapon and cutting another Ojama in two. (ATK 2500-2600/DEF 1500)

**(Josh: 7300) - (Solo: 7700)**

"It's time for your last Token to die!" Solo shouted cleaving the last of the Ojama brothers in two. (ATK 2600-2700/DEF 1500)

**(Josh: 7000) - (Solo: 7700)**

"I'll attack King Dragun dead last!" Solo jumped back and then leapt into the air and sunk in blade into the Dragon's shoulder, he cried out in agony and exploded into pixels. (ATK 2700-2800/DEF 1500)

**(Josh: 6700) - (Solo: 7700)**

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Solo sneered. "Have you realized it yet Josh you can't defeat me!"

"Shut up!" Josh snarled. "I can't lose, I still have a bet I have to settle with a certain rival!"

"You're truly a fool, you aren't going to be proving anything if you can't beat me," Solo sneered. "Just give it up!"

"No, I won't give up, not now or ever!" Josh declared. "I activate Premature Burial, so I'll pay 800 Life Points and then I'll bring King Dragun Back!" the regal Dragon pulled himself out of the ground and shook the dirt off himself.

**(Josh: 5900) - (Solo: 7700)**

"Now I'll activate King Dragun's special effect, Dragon Calling!" King Dragon took the flute and blew into it, letting loose a haunting melody.

"Now I can Special Summon Tyrant Dragon from my hand!" in a burst of flames the rust coloured scale covered Dragon flew onto the field. (ATK 2900/DEF 2500)

"Now I activate Heavy Storm and chain Emergency Provisions, sending Premature and Heavy Storm to the Graveyard to gain back 1000 Life Points per sent card," the two cards dissolved into motes of light that surrounded Josh.

**(Josh: 7900) - (Solo: 7700)**

Then a powerful wind storm slammed into the field causing the wicked looking sword in Solo's hands to explode along with his face down card. (ATK 2800-2500/DEF 1500-1200)

"Now I'll activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the Pot of Greed floated onto the field and both duelists drew three cards.

"Now I'll activate Trap Booster and discard one card, which is my Discard Clause and then I can activate a Trap card from my hand like Fiendish Chain!" chains suddenly burst out of the ground and ensnared Solo. (ATK 2500-2000/DEF 1200)

"Now your effect is negated and that means you are no longer invincible and all the attack points you gained from your effect are lost!" Josh laughed. "King Dragon incinerate him!" the royal Dragon fired another blast of flames that struck Solo, who cried out in pain this time.

**(Josh: 7900) - (Solo: 7300)**

Solo skidded back to the spot he'd be standing before he played Lone Fighter, he growled and glared at Josh. "Ugh that actually hurt, now I'm a little impressed," he muttered.

"Tyrant Dragon attack him directly with your Tyrant's Blaze!" the Dragon Lord opened its maw and blasted Solo with a jet of flame.

**(Josh: 7900) - (Solo: 4400)**

"Now I'll set one card face down and end my turn," Josh said.

"Via the effect of Unlimited Blade Works I add Sword of Dragon's Soul to my hand," another card slid out of Solo's Deck and he grabbed it and smirked.

"Now I activate the effect of the card you destroyed!" Solo declared as the Graveyard began to glow.

"Huh, how can he activate a card in the Graveyard?" Alexandria questioned.

"Oh he's full of crazy tricks with his monsters," Angela giggled. "He's a tough guy to beat that's for sure."

"The card is a special Trap card called Lone Revival and since it was destroyed by card effect I can during my Standby Phase after a Lone monster was destroyed I can Special Summon a level five or higher Warrior type monster from my Graveyard by removing this card!" Solo was again covered by a cyclone of energy. It faded revealing he'd become Lone Fighter again.

"Now I'll equip myself with Sword of Dragon's Soul!" a sword appeared on Solo's back, it had an oddly shaped blade. (ATK 1200-1900/DEF 1200)

"Now I activate Hidden Armory!" Solo's Deck began to glow and he took the top card off and dropped it into the Graveyard. "Now in exchange for not Normal Summoning or setting a monster this turn I can add an Equip Spell card and add it from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand, I'll go with my Lightning Blade from my Deck!" a broadsword crackling with electricity appeared on Solo's hip. (ATK 1900-2700/DEF 1200)

"Finally I'll equip myself with Junk Barrage!" Solo's one arm began to glow a fiery red. "This card will allow me to throw half the attack points of any monster I kill at you as damage."

"Now I'll attack your King Dragun!" Solo jumped into the air and drove the Sword of Dragon's Soul into the chest of the regal Dragon, who cried out and exploded in a shower of pixels.

**(Josh: 7600) - (Solo: 4400)**

Solo landed in front of Josh with a nasty grin spread across his face. He raised his glowing hand and blasted Josh with a burst of energy. (ATK 2700-2800/DEF 1200)

**(Josh: 6400) - (Solo: 4400)**

"Oh and just in case you didn't realize it my Sword of Dragon's Soul will destroy any Dragon unfortunate enough to battle me will die at the end of the Battle Phase," he explained.

"I know, you're not the first person to use that card on me, at least you're not combining it with Buster Blader," Josh growled.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Solo said.

Josh growled and snapped the top card off his Deck then he grinned and chuckled. "Well that form you're in is about to die," he said.

"I think that's the worst bluff I've ever heard!" Solo sneered. "Fine if you can defeat my Fighter again then prove it!"

"I summon the deadly Exploder Dragon!" a small Dragon with dark blue scales holding what looked like an orange egg with spikes covering it flew onto the field and snarled at Solo. (ATK 1000/DEF 0)

"I'll also activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Junk Barrage!" the cyclone flew across the field and blew the glowing aura off Solo's arm.

"Exploder Dragon attack his Lone Fighter!" the Dragon took to the air but was quickly cut down by Solo.

"Care to explain why your Life Points haven't gone down?" Solo asked.

Josh merely grinned and pointed up. Solo craned his neck back and gasped, the egg Exploder Dragon had been holding was plummeting towards him. "I can't take any damage from a battle that involves my Exploder Dragon, and any monster stupid enough to destroy it dies!" Josh laughed.

The egg slammed into Solo causing him to skid back. _"Too bad my Lone Fighter will be back sooner than you expect,"_ Solo chuckled mentally. _"Looks like I was wrong about you Josh Atlas, you were never good enough to defeat me."_

"Tyrant Dragon attack him directly!" the rust coloured Dragon roared and blasted Solo with another jet of flames.

**(Josh: 6400) - (Solo: 1500)**

"Now I'll end my turn," Josh smirked. "For all of your tough talk you aren't that tough."

Solo smirked and drew. "I activate Equipment Sale!" Solo roared. "This a useful Spell card for my Deck, I now remove any number of Equip Spell cards from my Graveyard and draw a card for each one! So I'll remove my Fusion Sword, Junk Barrage, Sword of Dragon's Soul and Lightning Blade!" the four cards fell out of Solo's Graveyard and he slid them into his back pocket.

"Now I'll activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and Solo quickly handed her two of the card's he'd be holding. "Now reveal face down card Call of the Haunted!" Solo walked forward and was again covered by a cyclone of light. "Now via my own effect I can add Double Shot Pistols from my Deck to my hand!" another card slid out of Solo's Deck only to be thrown into his Duel Disk.

A pair of gun holsters appeared on Solo's hips with a pistol in each, they were both painted red and bore an odd crest. (ATK 1200-1600/DEF 1200) "Now I'll equip myself with another Fusion Sword!" another glowing katana appeared on Solo's back. (ATK 1600-2400/DEF 1200)

"Now I'll activate Riryoku!" Solo shouted and Josh gasped. "Yes now half of your Tyrant Dragon's attack points will be added to my own, and in addition to 400 extra attack points my Double Shot Pistols allow to attack twice in the same Battle Phase!" energy flowed from Tyrant Dragon into Solo. (ATK 2900-1450/DEF 2500) (ATK 3850-/DEF 1200)

"I'll attack your Dragon obviously!" Solo roared jumping into the air with the glowing sword held above his head.

"Actually the only thing you'll be doing is losing!" Josh countered. "Go, Mirror Force!" the reflective wall appeared and Solo snickered.

"I'll activate Loner's Roar!" Solo roared and the wall shattered much to Josh's horror. Solo cut the Dragon lord's head off and landed in front of a stunned Josh. "This card can also be removed from the Graveyard and it negates the effect of a card that would destroy a monster on my side of the field, when I control only one monster."

**(Josh: 4000) - (Solo: 1500)**

Solo sheathed his sword and pulled out the two pistols. "This won't hurt….too much," Solo smirked as he unloaded a hail of gunfire on Josh, who gritted his teeth and skidded back.

**(Josh: 150) - (Solo: 1500)**

Solo smirked and walked back over to his side of the field. "I'll end my turn with a face down card," he said. (ATK 3850-2500/DEF 1200)

Josh drew and winced. _"Ok that hurt a lot more than I expected, but I won't go down without a fight!"_

"It's my turn draw!" Josh roared. "I'll set three cards face down and end my turn."

Solo drew and shrugged. "So your run in this tournament ends, not with a bang but with a whimper," he muttered drawing his sword. "I'll end this with a direct attack!"

Solo was just about to strike Josh when a familiar swirling barrier stopped the white haired young man in his track. "Negate Attack, your only delaying the inevitable," he scoffed walking back to his side.

Josh drew. "I activate Card of Demise!" he cried. "Now I draw until I'm holding five cards and in five of my turns I'll lose my hand, but that won't matter!" Josh quickly tore cards off the top of his Deck until he held five.

"Now since I have no monsters and you have at least one I can Special Summon Vice Dragon with its attack and defense points halved!" the dark purple scaled Dragon flew in front of Josh and roared. (ATK 2000-1000/DEF 2400-1200)

"Now I'll call out Dragunity Pilum!" a small Dragon with green scales covered in black armor with a spike sticking out of the helmet flew next to Vice Dragon. (ATK 1400/DEF 1000)

"Now I tune my level three, Dragunity Pilum with my level five, Vice Dragon…," Josh began.

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" _

Pilum flew into the air and became three Synchro gates. Vice Dragon flew through and was reduced to orange framework. Red Dragon Archfiend descended onto the field and snarled at Solo. (ATK 3000/DEF 2000)

"Too bad Josh, but your overgrown lizard won't be enough to beat me and next turn it dies!" Solo growled.

"Never insult Red Dragon and he will be the one who defeats you because I reveal my face down card Assault Mode Activate!" Red Dragon Archfiend was swallowed by an intense blast of light from the Trap card.

When the light faded Red Dragon Archfiend had changed. He now wore demonic looking red armor over his chest, as well as having armor covering his wrists and ankles. (ATK 3500/DEF 2500) "Meet the mighty Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode!" Josh laughed.

"Attack his Lone Fighter with Extreme Crimson Force!" Red Dragon Archfiend roared and its one hand caught fire. It launched itself forward and struck Solo causing him to howl in pain.

**(Josh: 150) - (Solo: 500)**

"Now my new Red Dragon's effect activates and every other monster is destroyed after damage calculation, go Crimson the End!" Red Dragon belched forth a torrent of white hot flames. Solo groaned and was sent flying back to where he'd stood before.

"I'm still in this," Solo hissed. "And like I promised next turn your Dragon is dead!"

"There isn't going to be a next turn," Josh smirked. "Because I activate my other face down card Raigeki Break, so all I have to do is discard one card and I can destroy one monster on the field, and if any Assault Mode monsters dies they summon their non armored counterpart from the Graveyard!" a bolt of lightning struck Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode vaporizing it. But from its ashes rose the original Red Dragon Archfiend.

"Red Dragon Archfiend end this with Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon Archfiend slashed Solo with its ignited claw causing the Lone duelist to grit his teeth in pain.

**(Josh: 150) - (Solo: 0)**

"Well looks like I won," Josh smirked.

"Solo," the white haired duelist muttered as he turned to walk away.

"Huh what's that?" Josh asked.

"That's my name, it's Solo, you've impressed me Joshua Atlas, I actually hope we meet again so we can have a rematch," Solo said as he walked away with Angela following close behind.

"You dropped this," she said handing Solo a card that had fallen out of his hand when he'd been attacked my Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode. It was Solemn Judgement. "If you'd set this you could've won."

"I could've but I didn't," Solo said.

"Oh well it doesn't matter," Angela muttered. "And you know you and him will face off again, _it_ told you right?"

"Maybe," Solo muttered mysteriously. "Only time will tell, because as he taught me, nothing is set in stone."

Location unknown

Archer sat at his desk with a confident smirk on his face. "No matter who I face, these cards will be the last thing they ever see," he chuckled looking at a Deck of Duel Monster's cards.

Two people stood in front of Archer, one was Xander the other was a girl, about the same age as Reina and her friends, she wore a purple coat with the hood covering her head and hiding her face only a few strands of dark red hair poked out. "The only thing we need to do now is collect souls to fully empower the Avatar right?" the girl asked.

"Yes Talia, so that means you two will need these," Archer said handing Talia and Xander each a card.

"Cool so that means we get to start more Darkness Games," Xander chuckled. "Anyone specific you want us to take down boss?"

"No you may face anyone you want, but when you see him give these cards to Coby," Archer said handing Xander a Deck of cards.

Xander looked at them and gasped. "How in the Hell did you manage to recreate these cards?"

"Even in its weakened state the Avatar already allows me unrivalled power, so recreating those cards wasn't hard," Archer chuckled evilly.

"Wow and I'm guessing Coby still holds a grudge against old man Fudo?" Xander asked and Archer nodded. "Too bad that means he'd likely going to hunt down that cutie Reina and kill her."

"Hmph," Talia scoffed. "Good riddance to that bitch," with that she walked out of the room.

"Yes we'll allow Coby to have his fun, plus it would be interesting to test Mrs. Fudo's strength, I expect great things from her," Archer said lacing his fingers together.

**Zeke: Well looks like Archer's goons are on the move.**

**Rob: I have a bad feeling at least one of us is going to have to face them before the finals.**

**Reina: But who is Coby and what cards did Archer give him?**

**Melissa: I have no clue but looks like I'm dueling next.**

**Josh: She's facing an opponent using a strategy I've heard of but never seen.**

**Reina: Don't miss Darkest Night or you'll be sorry**

**Rob: That line sounds familiar.**

**Original Cards**

Lone Fighter

Earth | Level 5 | Warrior/Effect | 1200/1200 |When this card is summoned add one Equip Spell card from your Deck to your hand. This card gains the following effects only if this monster is the only one on your side of the field.

This card cannot be destroyed as a result of battle.

This card gains 100 attack points for every monster this card destroys.

Unlimited Blade Works

Image: A large barren field with various weapons buried in the ground.

| Field Spell | By skipping your Draw Phase you may add one Equip Spell card or Union monster from your Deck to your hand.

Laplace the Sword Spirit

Dark | Level 3 | Thunder/Union | 1100/900 | Once per turn during your Main Phase you can equip this to a Warrior type monster or unequip and Special Summon this card. The monster equipped with this card gains 300 attack and defense points. When the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster as a result of battle and sends it to the Graveyard you can choose to attack again as long as you attack another monster. If the equipped monster would be destroyed you can destroy this card instead.

Lone Revival

Image: Lone Fighter bursting out of the ground and attacking Gilford the Lightning.

| Trap | During the Standby Phase after a 'Lone' monster was destroyed you may Special Summon a level five or higher Warrior type monster from your Graveyard. If this card is in your Graveyard you may remove it from play to activate its effect.

Equipment Sale

Image: A person selling several weapons to the man from Dark Bribe.

| Quick-Play Spell | Remove from play any number of Equip Spell cards from your Graveyard to draw one card from your Deck for every card you removed.

Double Shot Pistols

Image: Two twin pistols in the hands of a monster that looks similar to Lone Fighter.

| Equip Spell | This card can only be equipped to a monster with 'Lone' in its name. The monster equipped with this card can attack twice in the same Battle Phase and gains 400 attack points.

Loner's Roar

Image: Master Monk roaring causing Mirror Wall to shatter.

| Counter Trap | Activate this card only while you control only one monster. Negate the activation of the effect of a Spell, Trap or monster effect that would destroy a monster on your side of the field. If this card is in your Graveyard you may remove it from play to activate it.

Card of Demise

Image: A man with a Deck of Duel Monster's cards being cut in half by a guillotine.

| Spell | Draw cards until you have 5 cards in your hand. During your fifth Standby Phase after activation, send all cards in your hand to the Graveyard.

(This card was used by Seto Kaiba several times during the original Yu-gi-oh! But it was first used during episode 132 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)


	21. Ch21: Darkest Night

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twenty-One: Darkest Night

A/N: Sorry this one took a while folks schools been rough lately.

It was day two of the tournament and Melissa was in a good mood. She'd won a few duels and she was on break from school for two weeks.

Unlike her friends well except maybe Rob, she was an early riser and had gotten a head start today. Only to find out one sad fact, it seemed like most duelists still in the tournament were not early risers.

"Oh well I guess I can just try to find an opponent," she sighed.

She saw a group of people crowded around something, she thought it might be a duel in progress or that street performer she'd seen around, although that white haired guy with the cold eyes gave her the creeps, she found the blonde haired girl's tricks interesting.

She made her way into the crowd and found it was some kind of raffle. There was a tall man with curly light red hair and large forearms dressed in jeans and plain white shirt. He stood beside a table with several things on it. One of those things was a sphere about the size of a beach ball made of metal mesh, with a hand crank on the side.

"Don't be shy folks!" the man chuckled in a booming voice. "Buy a ticket and if your number comes up then you could win one of these wonderful prizes, only two-hundred yen!"

Melissa arched an eyebrow. For two-hundred yen some of this stuff was great, it ranged from a large tub of candy to packs Duel Monsters cards to a coupon for The Spellcaster Café. But one thing really caught Melissa's eye it was about ten to fifteen cards in a clear case that was chained to the table.

"Excuse me sir," Melissa said meekly.

The man turned around and grinned. "What can I do for you little lady?" he asked cheerfully.

"Why are these cards in this case?" Melissa asked.

"Those, oh well those are a few very rare promotional cards, but to be fair they're pretty useless without the rest of the set," the man said.

"Could I see them?" Melissa asked.

"No problem little lady, just please take a step back, I worked hard to win these cards and I'd hate to have them stolen," the man said opening the case and Melissa stepped back. The man held up the cards and fanned them out. They consisted of four Spells, three Traps and the other eight were monsters, two being Synchro monsters.

"Dark Tengu," Melissa muttered. "I've never heard of these cards."

"I suspect you wouldn't little lady," the man chuckled. "I checked these out online and found them to be part of a sort of contest created by Industrial Illusions, to see if anyone could make a Deck with these cards the rest of the set was released in the Rise of the Dragon Emperor pack and these fifteen cards you see are one of about seven sets of the same cards, given as special prizes at some tournaments, the one I entered, a duelist had to use an all dark attribute Deck, I won't be able to duel professionally anymore so I decided to give these cards away, and some other things I got from friends of mine."

"Cool," Melissa grinned. She'd probably have no use for these cards but Rob had some rare cards he might be willing to trade for these cards. "I'll take a ticket," she said pulling the money out of her pocket.

"Well good luck to you little lady," the man chuckled handing her a ticket with seventy-four on it.

After a few minutes the man began to spin the sphere. He stopped it and a ball with a number on it fell out. After a few minutes it came time for the spin that would decide who would win the cards. The ball rolled out. "Who had the ticket marked seventy-four?" the man cried.

"I do!" two voices shouted in unison. The eyes of the crowed turned to the people who'd called out. One was Melissa the other was a boy about fifteen, he was kind of skinny with messy dark brown hair, he wore a black t-shirt with a crescent moon on it, and a pair of baggy cargo shorts, on his right arm was a customized Duel Disk.

Both Melissa and the dark haired boy walked up to the man and showed him their tickets. They were both exactly the same. "Of all the luck, I get a roll of numbered tickets with seventy-four printed twice!" the man shouted slapping his palm to his forehead.

"I have an idea," the boy said. "You're a duelist right?" he asked Melissa eyeing her Duel Disk.

"Yep and I'm even entered in the tournament," Melissa replied.

"Really, so am I," the boy grinned. "So how about we kill two birds with one stone, you and I duel and the winner gets to keep the cards."

"Sounds good to me," Melissa grinned activating her Duel Disk.

"Hold on if it wouldn't be too much trouble I'd like to add an extra stipulation," the boy said.

"Ok what is it?" Melissa asked.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble I'd like to ask to use those cards in my Deck for this duel, if I lose I'll even give you my whole Deck," the boy offered.

"That seems steep, what'll I have to give up if I lose?" Melissa asked.

"Nothing but you see I have the rest of the set that goes with those cards, and if I lose then they'll be useless to me, I'd rather they went to a duelist who may at least use them," the boy said. "So if you don't mind could I use them?" he asked the man.

"Ok but don't try to run with them, I've got my eye on you," the man said handing the boy the cards.

He pulled a Deck out of the box attached to his belt and slid it into his Duel Disk. The Deck did seem to be missing several cards. He added the extra cards and hit the auto-shuffle button.

"Duel!" the two shouted.

"Oh yes, my name is Yuji Sekuro and I don't plan on losing," the boy grinned plucking five cards off the top of his Deck.

**(Melissa: 8000) - (Yuji: 8000)**

"I'm Melissa Yoshiro and I have no plans on losing either I'm going all the way to the finals of this tournament and becoming Queen!" Melissa declared proudly.

"Well this'll duel may change you plans, and since I like to think of my self as a gentleman you can go first if you want," Yuji offered.

"I believe I will!" Melissa grinned yanking the top card off her Deck. She looked at her cards and scowled. _"Ok not a good day to get a bad opening hand."_

"I summon Krebons!" the odd looking harlequin Psychic monster floated onto the field and gave loud cackle. (ATK 1200/DEF 400)

"Now I'll set a card face down and turn end," Melissa said.

"Hmmm I'm guessing that face down card is something that can stop my attack so you can Synchro Summon next turn," Yuji mused. "Oh well no matter, I summon Dark Tengu Vanguard!" In an explosion of black feathers appeared a strange looking creature. It bore a slight resemblance to one of Rob's Blackwings, but this one was thin and wore samurai style armor and held a halberd in his hands. (ATK 1600/DEF 1100)

"Now I'll activate Cry of the Tengu!" the Vanguard opened its beak and let loose a loud piercing shriek.

Melissa covered her ears. "Ok other than making me go deaf what does that do?" she asked.

"Well I can only activate it while I control a Tengu monster and now that I have activated it, you can't chain any Spell or Traps to my monster's attack, so attack her Krebons with Frontline Slicer!" the humanoid bird streaked forward and was about to cleave Krebons in two.

"Hold on I activate the effect of Krebons!" Melissa cried, but to her shock Krebons didn't create a shield and was cleaved in two.

**(Melissa: 7600) - (Yuji: 8000)**

"Time out I think my Duel Disk is broken," Melissa said.

"No it's working just fine, it just that when my Vanguard attacks the effects of the monster it attacks are negated," Yuji chuckled. "So I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"I activate Teleport, and since I control no monsters and you control a monster I can pay 800 Life Points to Special Summon Psychic monster from my hand," a yellow green aura surrounded Melissa and the card.

**(Melissa: 6800) - (Yuji: 8000)**

"Now I'll Special Summon Final Psycho Ogre!" in a burst of light appeared monster what made Yuji step back. Its arms and legs were covered with blue fur and it has wires sticking out of various points on its body, its face looked like a mutant gorilla. (ATK 2200/DEF 1700)

"Psycho Ogre attack his Dark Tengu Vanguard!" the beast beat its chest then and jumped forward.

"Hold on!" Yuji shouted. "Reveal face down card Tengu Mirage!" the Vanguard started to blur and then vanished, only for moments later to reappear only now there were two. (ATK 800/DEF 550)

"What just happened?" Melissa asked as Final Psycho Ogre landed and jumped back to her side of the field.

"Well to activate my Quick-Play Spell card Tengu Mirage, I had to release a Winged-Beast monster on my side of the field then Tengu Illusion Tokens were created in defense mode for every two levels my monster hand, they're half the released monster's level and half its attack and defense points and they can only be used as a release in Advance Summon of a Winged-Beast monster," Yuji explained.

"Ok, Psycho Ogre attack one of his Tokens!" the Ogre snarled and punched one of the Tokens shattering it into a million pixels.

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Melissa sighed.

Yuji pulled the top card off his Deck and grinned. "I summon Tengu Egg!" a small black egg sitting in a nest appeared on the field. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

Melissa blinked in confusion. "Ok what does that thing do?" she asked.

"Well you'll just have to wait and find out," Yuji said with a broad grin. "But for now I'll end my turn by equipping my Tengu Egg with Mist Body, so now it can't be destroyed by battle!" a shroud of mist began to surrounded the egg.

"Then I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"I activate Magical Mallet!" Melissa cried. "Now I can shuffle the three other cards in my hand back into my Deck and draw that many cards," Melissa added the cards to her Deck and pulled three new cards off the top of her Deck.

"I summon Psychic Snail!" in a burst of electricity the odd snail like monster crawled onto the field. (ATK 1900/DEF 1200)

"Psychic Snail attack his Egg with Telepathic Current!" the snail like monster began to charge electric energy.

"Reveal face down card!" Yuji shouted. "No Entry, so now all attack mode monsters are switched to defense mode!" a blast of energy shot out of the Trap card causing both of Melissa's monsters to shield themselves with their arms and the Egg it was hard to tell if it was defending or not.

"I'll end my turn," Melissa sighed.

"I summon Dark Tengu Samurai!" in another burst of feathers appeared another Tengu, this one was dressed in more elaborate armor and it had a katana strapped to its back. (ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"And he has a handy effect, for every face up Tengu monster I control he gains 100 attack points and I see three Tengus!" Yuji grinned. (ATK 1800-2100/DEF 1200)

"Attack her Ogre with Shadow Sword!" the bird-man drew his sword and streaked past the Ogre who cried out in pain and shattered.

"Now I'll end my turn with a face down card," Yuji said.

Melissa drew and grinned in a way Yuji didn't like. "I summon Psy-Lancer and I'll move my Snail into attack mode!" in a burst of energy appeared a cyborg in futuristic armor holding not surprisingly a large lance. (ATK 1700/DEF 1350)

"Now I'll activate Psychic Snail's effect and pay 800 Life Points to allow my Lancer to attack twice this Battle Phase!" she declared as Psychic Snail struck Psy-Lancer with a bolt of energy.

**(Melissa: 6000) - (Yuji: 8000)**

"Let me guess your Lancer inflicts piercing damage?" Yuji gulped.

"Yep, but when he inflicts damage to your Life Points I can also draw one card," Melissa said. "Lancer attack his Token then his Egg!" the lance wielding monster jumped and drove its weapon into the bird-man's chest causing it to cry out and shatter. He then leapt back and attacked the egg, only to have his lance pass right through it. (ATK 2100-2000/DEF 1200)

**(Melissa: 6000) - (Yuji: 5150)**

"Well that sucked," Yuji muttered as his Life Points plunged.

"Is your Tengu Egg starting to glow or am I going crazy?" Melissa asked staring at the monster.

"Nope it is glowing, but we'll get to that later," Yuji said and Melissa gulped.

"I'll end my turn," she said.

Yuji drew and looked at Melissa's two face down cards. _"She hasn't activated them yet, but maybe she's waiting for the right moment,"_ he thought.

"I summon Dark Tengu Priestess!" in a burst of darkness appeared another bird-man or in this case a woman. She was dressed in a black kimono with grey symbols on it. (ATK 2000-2100/DEF 1200) (ATK 1300/DEF 1000)

"Ok Dark Tengu Samurai attack her Psy-Lancer!" the sword wielding bird-man flew into the air and dove down slicing the cyborg in two.

**(Melissa: 5600) - (Yuji: 5150)**

"I activate one of my face down cards!" Melissa cried. "Telepathic Power, so since you destroyed a face up Psychic type monster the monster that destroyed my monster bites the dust and I gain Life Points equal to that monster's attack points!" a blast of energy shot out of the Trap card and was about to strike Yuji's monster.

"I think not!" Yuji countered. "I activate my face down Urgent Tuning now I can Synchro Summon during the Battle Phase! And I'll tune my level two, Dark Tengu Priestess and my level four, Dark Tengu Samurai….," he began.

"_The winds of change will gust until the tide of battle shifts in my favour! Synchro Summon be born Dark Tengu Wanderer!"_

The two Winged-Beasts took to the air. The beam missed Dark Tengu Samurai and he was surrounded by the Synchro gates created by Dark Tengu Priestess. He was reduced to orange framework. Instead of the burst of light a burst of darkness was created.

From it appeared Yuji's newest monster. It was another bird-man, this one was dressed in a black trench coat with two Chinese broadswords strapped to his back. (ATK 2300/DEF 1800)

"Wander attack her Psychic Snail with Black Flash!" the bird-man reached to draw his swords and vanished in a blur.

"Where'd he go?" Melissa asked looking around. "Oh well no matter reveal face down card Mirror Force!" but to Melissa's horror the face down card didn't flip up.

"Oh really sorry I forgot to mention my Wanderer's effect is that you can't chain any Spell or Trap cards to his attack, Wanderer finish it!" the Winged-Beast suddenly appeared behind Psychic Snail, who cried out in pain and shattered.

**(Melissa: 5200) - (Yuji: 5150)**

"Ok I'll end my turn by setting a card face down," Yuji said.

Just as Melissa went to draw Yuji's face down card flipped up. "Activate Dust Tornado, so say goodbye to your Mirror Force!" a cyclone filled with dirt and debris flew across the field and shattered Melissa's face down card. "Now I'll set a card face down thanks to the second effect of my Dust Tornado."

"I summon Psy-Necromancer!" a strange sight appeared on the field. It was a humanoid creature and like the rest of the Psy monsters it wore futuristic armor, but it was covered by odd looking robes you might see on a Spellcaster monster. (ATK 800/DEF 1500)

"I activate his effect and select a Psychic type monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it, so my Lancer is back!" the lance wielding monster appeared from the ground brushing dirt off his armor.

**(Melissa: 4400) - (Yuji: 5150)**

"In case you were wondering about why my Life Points suddenly dropped," Melissa said and Yuji sort of shrugged in return. "Well I take damage equal to 200 times the level of the revived monster."

"I kind of figured, I must admit I wondered what the first Psychic archetype would be capable of, and so far I'm actually kind of impressed," Yuji said. "But that fact aside I have to win this!"

"I can understand that, but I want to be Queen, or failing that I want to face one of my friends or Josh in the finals and know that even if I lose I gave it all my heart and soul!" Melissa declared.

"Now I'll tune my level two, Psy-Necromancer and my level four, Psy-Lancer…," she began.

"_Forces of the past collide with forces of the future, to create and deadly combination! Synchro Summon arise Psy-Queen!"_

Psy-Necromancer chanted and both it and Psy-Lancer vanished and were replaced by two green rings and four stars. The stars were covered by the rings and aligned to cause a burst of light.

Psy-Queen stepped onto the field and looked at Yuji and smirked. She raised her staff proudly and took aim at the Tengu duelist. (ATK 2500/DEF 1600)

"Psy-Queen blast his Tengu!" the royal Psychic raised her staff and fired a blast of energy at the coat wearing Tengu. The monster howled in pain and shattered like glass.

**(Melissa: 4400) - (Yuji: 4950)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Melissa said. She noticed that the glow around the Tengu Egg had grown brighter. _"I have a horrible feeling in my gut that I'm not going to like that thing's effect."_

Yuji's gaze shifted over to his remaining monster and he grinned._ "It's almost ready, I only need two things and she'll likely supply me with one of those,"_ he thought with a sly smile on his lips.

"Ok I'll activate my Trap card Rain's Tranquility!" the Trap card opened and what appeared to be a burst of blue shimmering flames spewed out covering the field. The egg was unaffected Psy-Queen on the other hand seemed to become somewhat sleepy. (ATK 2500-1900/DEF 1600-1000)

"Hey what happened to my monster?" Melissa inquired.

"Well that's the power of Rain's Tranquility, and the power of rain class flames, they weaken anything they come into contact with, in game terms that means all monsters on the field when this Trap card is played have their attack and defense points lowered by 100 times their level," Yuji explained.

"Now I'm going to activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the Pot of Greed appeared in a puff of smoke and both duelists pulled three cards off the top of their Decks.

"Ok I'll set a monster and a card face down and that'll be all," he said.

"Then it's my turn!" Melissa shouted.

What she didn't know was that Reina was watching the duel. _"Mel's really improved since I first met her,"_ she thought. _"She much more confident in herself and her cards may make me want to puke but she handles them well."_

"Psy-Queen attack his face down monster!" the royal Psychic raised her staff and blew the face down monster which was revealed to be a young bird to pixels.

"What was that?" Melissa asked with a large question mark appearing above her head.

"That was my Tengu Chick and when he bites the dust, well I get to Special Summon another level three or lower Tengu monster from my Deck, and another Tengu Chick will do just fine!" a card popped out of Yuji's Deck and he slapped it onto his Duel Disk.

In a burst of darkness another small black bird appeared it was using its wings to defend itself. (ATK 800/DEF 600)

"I'll end turn," Melissa sighed.

Reina had been watching the duel for a while and she was getting a weird feeling from Yuji. It wasn't the evil she'd sensed from the Wicked Gods, but it was dark, very dark. What Reina couldn't see was a jet black aura around Yuji, which even he wasn't aware of.

Across the street two people had taken an interest, in Yuji not the duel. "Are you sure that's him, he doesn't look like much," one of the two muttered, from the voice it seemed to be a girl.

"Yes I'm sure of it," the other person said before they coughed. "He will be important in our plans for the future. But until then we have more pressing matters, like the three Wicked Gods."

"Yes but if we could steal them from Archer, this punk would be unnecessary," the girl spat. "We should focus on him and the fools, who helped him, not worry about the others unless we absolutely have to."

"Be calm Layla, if Reina Fudo or any of her friends defeat Archer than obtaining the Wicked Gods will be nearly impossible," the man coughed.

"Those losers, I'm doubtful any of them could defeat my true Deck," Layla spat. "I already crushed the rumoured best duelist at New Domino Duel Academy, I must admit though those cards of his were odd."

"They're from the Legends of Capcom series they're very rare," the man wheezed. "Now we must get going," he said as he and Layla turned to walk away.

"Ok I'm going to release my Tengu Chick to call out Dark Tengu Slasher!" the Chick disappeared and was replaced by a much larger Winged-Beast. It stood at least eight feet tall, it wore armor much like its brethren, but it lacked a weapon but its claws were razor sharp. (ATK 2400/DEF 1900)

"Now I activate my Trap card, a Continuous one card Storm's Degeneration!" from the Trap card a burst of dark red flames exploded out covering Yuji's two monsters. "It has a nasty effect in that when a monster I control destroys a monster you control, you'll receive an extra 500 points of damage!"

"Now my Tengu avenge you fall brothers with your Surging Darkness Claws!" the bestial bird-man flew forward with blistering speed and was about to cleave Psy-Queen in two, when he slammed into an energy shield.

**(Melissa: 6800) - (Yuji: 4950)**

"Good thing I had the foresight to set my Draining Shield, so your attack was negated and the potential damage was turned into Life Points," Melissa grinned.

"I'll end my turn," Yuji sighed.

Melissa drew and scowled. "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn."

Yuji drew his next card and chuckled. "Melissa I'm going to tell you right here and now, that was a bad move," he said.

"What but how?" Melissa gasped.

"Well the in sense of normal gameplay that was a actually a smart move in case I drew another monster, or used my Tengu Egg's effect," Yuji said muttering the last part. "But you see if my Slasher destroys one of your monsters he can go in for another strike, so long as that second strike is against another monster," he grinned.

"Tengu Slasher do your thing, and destroy both her monsters with your Surging Darkness Claws!" the Winged-Beast took to the air and dove down. He slashed Psy-Queen causing her to scream and shatter.

**(Melissa: 6300) - (Yuji: 4950)**

"And attack again!" Yuji roared. The sharp clawed monster kicked off the ground and sliced a familiar golden armored android in two.

**(Melissa: 5800) - (Yuji: 4950)**

"Ok I'll end my turn with a face down card," Yuji chuckled.

Melissa drew and grinned. "I activate the effect of my Teleport card!" she cried and Yuji blinked in confusion.

"Wow I'd totally forgotten you even had that card, oh well continue with your move," he said.

**(Melissa: 5000) - (Yuji: 4950)**

"Ok I use the effect of Teleport to bring out my Storm Caller!" in a burst of electricity appeared a truly odd looking monster. It had blue skin and a large satellite dish was attached to the creatures head and a metal ring was around its waist. (ATK 2300/DEF 2000)

"Now I'll activate Emergency Teleport, this card will allow me to Special Summon a Psychic type monster of level three or lower from my Deck or hand, and coming from my Deck is the one and only Manipulator Psychic!" in a burst of electricity appeared a man in a black duster jacket and black pants, with cybernetic enhancements on various parts of his body. A loud growl could be heard in the crowd, it had come from Reina and it wasn't surprising because this guy was a dead ringer for Sayer. (ATK 850/DEF 400)

"Ok I'll tune my level two, Manipulator Psychic and my level six, Storm Caller….," Melissa began.

"_Deep within the mind sleeps the Id demon! It burst forth to cause mayhem and destruction! Synchro Summon, awaken Thought Ruler Archfiend!"_

Manipulator Psychic cackled and jumped into the air and landed on Storm Caller's shoulders somehow. He vanished and was replaced by two green rings that covered Storm Caller. From the burst of light appeared one of the two Archfiends that wasn't actually a Fiend. (ATK 2700/DEF 2300)

"Ugh, that thing is really ugly," Yuji gasped. "But you said Archfiend, and yet it's a Psychic type monster."

"Ya I know, I asked Zeke about that because well he loves Archfiends, and he told me that this monster has a tale behind it, want to hear it?" Melissa inquired.

"Sure I love to hear stories about Duel Monsters, they're always so interesting," Yuji replied with a goofy grin.

"Well you see a long time ago, before the Archfiends lived in Pandemonium he was their ruler, their King basically he controlled them, and it wasn't a shock why, while most Archfiends exhausted themselves easily, he just grew powerful the more with each enemy he defeated, but a young upstart who would grow to become Chaos King Archfiend challenged him to one on one combat," Melissa began.

"Sounds really interesting so far," Yuji said.

"Well due to a new power he'd discovered Chaos King won and later with his help the Archfiend threw the Dark World Fiends out of Pandemonium, but a cost had to be paid with Thought Ruler gone the Archfiends had no one to recharge them, and Thought Ruler well he started his own renegade tribe that would one day grow into the Psychic type," she finished.

"Thought Ruler attack his Slasher with Thought Bomb!" the wicked looking Psychic raised a claw and the air began to twist and warp.

"Hold on I activate Shift, so I can change the target of your attack or Spell or Trap effects that targets to the appropriate monster!" Yuji cried. But the Trap card just exploded.

**(Melissa: 4000) - (Yuji: 4950)**

"Stuff like that just won't work," Melissa smirked. "Because you see as undisputed King of all Psychic monsters if you try to target one of them with a Spell or Trap card I can pay 1000 Life Points to negate and destroy that card."

"And now you Slasher is about to die!" the Winged-Beast howled in pain and exploded into pixels, that were absorbed by Thought Ruler.

**(Melissa: 6400) - (Yuji: 4650)**

"Luckily his other effect allows me to regain Life Points equal to the attack points of any monster he destroys," Melissa said.

"Now I'll set a card face down then turn end," she said.

Yuji drew and his eyes widened. "Oh yeah!" he shouted.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you got a good draw?" Melissa asked sarcastically.

"Of course, in fact I just drew one of my most powerful monsters," Yuji grinned.

"Problem is you only have one monster on the field," Melissa said but Yuji's grin only widened.

"That's the thing, you see my Tengu Egg has a useful ability," Yuji said wagging his finger. "For every Tengu monster that was destroyed by battle since it's been on the field gave it a Tengu Counter, and for each counter it counts as that many sacrifices when I summon a Winged Beast monster."

"It has four!" Melissa gasped.

"Yes but I only need three!" Yuji shouted as the egg and Spell card were engulfed in flames. "Rising from the ashes of its fallen brothers, the ruler of all Winged-Beasts, lord and master of the sky itself, arise Suzaku – Dark Tengu Phoenix!" the flames flew into the air and fused together into a giant shape. It was a massive bird that seemed to be wearing a crimson mask over its face, other than that its entire body was made of black flames. (ATK 2900/DEF 2600)

"I expected something that required three releases to have more attack points or….," Melissa stopped and Yuji smirked.

"It has a very deadly effect, if I called out it with three releases I have a choice to make, either every monster or every Spell and Trap card on your side of the field is about to burn!" Yuji smirked. "And you know what I'm going to go with….."

"Enough suspense tell us already!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"Fine I choose monsters!" the firebird screamed and spread its wings and fire erupted on Melissa's side of the field. Thought Ruler howled in agony as he was immolated.

"Now my Phoenix attack her directly with Shadow Wrath Flames!" the giant firebird screamed again and a giant ball of fired struck Melissa causing her to cry out.

**(Melissa: 3500) - (Yuji: 4650)**

"That has to be the _second_ most painful direct attack I've ever taken," Melissa groaned.

"I'd hate to see the monster that hit you with that attack," Yuji chuckled. "Sorry if that hurt, I'm not the kind of guy who hits girls, but this is Duel Monsters and sometimes being a gentleman does work."

"I understand but I don't plan on losing!" Melissa declared.

"Neither do I!" Yuji also declared.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," he added.

Melissa drew and smiled. "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn," she said.

Yuji arched an eyebrow. "Phoenix do your thing!" the firebird shrieked again and Melissa's face down monster ignited and was burnt to ashes.

"That was my Pandaborg and since he was just killed I can pay another 800 points to Special Summon one level four Psychic monster from my Deck, I believe another Pandaborg will do!" in a burst of water appeared a mechanical panda. (ATK 1700/DEF 1400)

**(Melissa: 2200) - (Yuji: 4650)**

"Huh, my Life Points should be higher," Melissa said.

"You seem to have forgotten about my Trap card," Yuji grinned. "It takes away 500 of your Life Points whenever one of my monsters destroys one of yours."

"Oh yeah now I remember that card," Melissa said rubbing the back of her head.

"I'll simply end my turn," Yuji said.

"I release my Pandaborg to call out Overdrive Teleporter!" in a burst of ones and zeroes appeared a monster dressed in a light blue overcoat with purple hair and green goggles covering its eyes. (ATK 2100/DEF 1200)

"Now I'll activate Card of Demise, so I draw until I hold five cards, then in five of my turns I lose my hand, but hopefully this duel won't last that long!" Melissa pulled cards off her Deck until she held five and five flames appeared above her head.

"Next I give up 2000 Life Points to Special Summon two level three or lower Psychic type monsters from my Deck, and I'll go with Psy-Elder and Psy-Striker!" a green yellow aura surrounded Melissa who cringed in pain.

**(Melissa: 200) - (Yuji: 4650)**

In two burst of light appeared a small monster dressed in armor like the other Psy monsters, he had a long white bread and held a staff. (ATK 1100/DEF 800)

The other monster was a young woman with neon green hair dressed in armor with a jet pack on her back and goggles over her eyes. (ATK 1300/DEF 600)

"I tune my level three, Psy-Striker and my level six, Overdrive Teleporter…..," Melissa began.

"_The ultimate perfection of technology blasts its way through any obstacle, with a sleek form surging with pure power! Synchro Summon and open fire Hyper Psychic Blaster!"_

The jetpack wearing girl flew into the air and two green rings came down and covered the summoner monster who was reduced to framework. From the burst of light appeared one of Melissa's most treasured monsters, its robotic body crackling with electricity. (ATK 3000/DEF 2500)

"I'm not done yet!" Melissa shouted throwing another card into her Duel Disk. "I activate the Equip Spell card Psychic Sword, and since my Life Points are lower than yours my monster gains attack points equal to the difference, up to 2000 points!" two small blades appeared out of Hyper Psychic Blaster's guns. (ATK 3000-5000/DEF 2500)

"Hyper Psychic Blaster attack his Phoenix with Psychic Beam Barrage!" the mechanical monster raised its blasters.

"_Target locked, blasters fully charged, terminating target,"_ the monster said before opening fire and blowing Yuji's monster to nothingness.

**(Melissa: 200) - (Yuji: 2550)**

"Psychic Elder attack him directly!" the elderly Psychic monster ran over to Yuji with a surprising burst of speed…..and whacked Yuji in the shin.

"Argh!" he yelled. "That hurt!"

**(Melissa: 1300) - (Yuji: 1450)**

"Why did your Life Points go up?" Yuji asked as Hyper Psychic Blaster's attack points plummeted. (ATK 5000-3150/DEF 2500)

"Well that would be this Elder's effect, if he inflicts damage to you I gain that many Life Points," Melissa chuckled.

"Now I'll end my turn with two face down cards," she said.

Yuji drew and grinned. "Melissa I'm about to summon my most deadly monster, the one who will end this duel I call out Dark Tengu Legend!" in a burst of darkness appeared another Winged-Beast this one wore ornate armor but carried no weapon. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Ok I'm going to say he has a deadly effect," Melissa said.

"Actually he has three, first is when he attacks he gain attack points equal to the monster he's attacking plus 500 and if he manages to destroy a monster you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's level times 200, so Dark Tengu Legend end this with your Legendary Left!" the Winged-Beast nodded and jumped at Hyper Psychic Blaster its left claw glowing with a dark light. (ATK 0-3650/DEF 0)

"I activate Rush Recklessly!" Melissa cried as a powerful red aura covered Hyper Psychic Blaster. (ATK 3150-3850/DEF 2500)

"Well good thing I've got my Rush Recklessly, and I'll chain it to yours!" the same red aura engulfed the winged monster. (ATK 3650-4550/DEF 0)

"I'm going to activate my last face down card, Magical Duplication, to activate this card I have to discard one card and then if this card is chained to the activation of a Spell card it copies that Spell card's effect!" the aura around Hyper Psychic Blaster grew even bigger (ATK 3850-4550/DEF 2500) and the two monsters collided causing a huge explosion of light, when it faded only Hyper Psychic Blaster remained.

**(Melissa: 1300) - (Yuji: 750)**

"I'll end my turn, so finish the duel," Yuji sighed. (ATK 4400-3000/DEF 2500)

"Ok Hyper Psychic Blaster!" Melissa shouted and Yuji cringed.

"Allow Psy-Elder to end the duel," Melissa giggled and the old Psychic monster whacked Yuji on the head with is staff.

**(Melissa: 1300) - (Yuji: 0)**

Yuji walked over to Melissa and pulled his Deck out of the slot and emptied his Graveyard. "Here you won this fair and square, and hey I guess this wasn't the Deck for me, oh well," he shrugged.

Melissa took the cards. "Thank you Yuji that was a fun duel," Melissa grinned. "Promise me when you find the Deck that clicks you'll have a rematch."

"Hey dude, looks like we're in the same boat!" a cheerful voice shouted. Someone from the now dispersed crowd ran up and put Yuji in a headlock. "We're both out of this tourney too bad eh?"

The young man had slightly tanned skin and grey eyes, he was grinning as Yuji struggled to get out of the headlock. He wore a mud brown t-shirt and baggy pants. "Hey there, my name's Rai Knovick!" the boy said extending his free hand.

"I'm Melissa Yoshiro!" Melissa said and just as she was about to shake Rai's hand Yuji broke free and grabbed his friend in a full nelson.

"I said stop putting me in headlocks you lunatic!" he growled. Rai broke free and the two became nothing more than a cloud of fists and feet.

"I'll never understand boys," Melissa sighed.

"Heh, Rob says the same thing about girls," Reina chuckled walking up to her friend.

"Reina, when did you get here?" Melissa shouted in surprise.

"A while ago, I see you've really improved, and now I've come to test you," Reina said with an evil grin.

"What but I can't beat you!" Melissa cried.

"Kidding," Reina grinned slapping her friend on the back. "If we're going to face off it'll hopefully be in the finals."

**Zeke: Score another one for our team!**

**Rob: Yuji had some cool cards.**

**Josh: Of course you liked them birdbrain they were Dark, Winged-Beasts!**

**Rob: Ok that's it Josh we're stepping outside! Both boys walk out the room and screams of pain and can be heard.**

**Vincent: Shouldn't we help one of them?**

**Zeke: Nah, let them kill each other their fathers were similar.**

**Josh walks back in with hardly a scratch: Vincent you're dueling next time.**

**Reina: Vincent's first duel on our side is in a chapter called Revenge!**

**Vincent: No….it can't be….**_**him**_**!**

**Rob: ….ouch.**

**Original Cards**

Dark Tengu Vanguard

Dark | Level 4 | Winged-Beast/Effect | 1600/1100 | When this card attacks any effects the attack target has are negated.

Cry of the Tengu

Image: Dark Tengu Legend unleashing a scream at the guy from Poison Chain.

| Quick-Play Spell | Activate this card only while you control a 'Tengu' monster. Until the End Phase your opponent cannot chain any Spell or Trap cards when a monster you control declares an attack.

Tengu Mirage

Image: Freed the Matchless General attacking Dark Tengu Samurai but his sword is going through the monster.

| Quick-Play Spell | Release one Winged-Beast monster on your side of the field and Special Summon Tengu Illusion Token(s) (Winged-Beast type/Dark/Level 2/Attack Points: ?/ Defense Points: ?) for every two stars the released monster had. The attack and defense points of the tokens are half the original attack and defense points of the released monster. These Tokens can only be used as releases for a Winged-Beast monster.

Tengu Egg

Dark | Level 2 | Winged-Beast/Effect | 0/0 | When a 'Tengu' monster is destroyed this card gains one Tengu Counter. For every Tengu Counter this monster has it can count as that many releases in the Advance Summon of a Winged-Beast monster.

Dark Tengu Samurai

Dark | Level 4 | Winged-Beast/Effect | 1800/1200 | For every face up 'Tengu' monster this card gains 100 attack points.

Psy-Lancer

Earth | Level 4 | Psychic/Effect | 1700/1350 | When this card attacks a defense mode monster with less defense points than this cards attack points inflict the difference as battle damage to your opponent's Life Points. When this card inflicts damage to your opponent's Life Points you may draw one card.

Dark Tengu Priestess

Dark | Level 2 | Winged-Beast/Tuner | 1300/1000 | Once per turn you may increase the level of a Winged-Beast monster by one until the End Phase.

Dark Tengu Wanderer

Dark | Level 6 | Winged-Beast/Synchro/Effect | 2300/1800 | 1 Winged-Beast Tuner + 1 or more Dark non-Tuner monsters. When this card attacks your opponent cannot activate any Spell or Trap cards until the end of the damage step.

Psy-Necromancer

Earth | Level 2 | Psychic/Tuner | 800/1500 | When this card is summoned you may Special Summon one Psychic type monster from your Graveyard. You take damage equal to the Special Summoned monster's level times 200.

Rain's Tranquility

Image: A blast of blue flames from the Dark Magician striking a Blue-Eyes White Dragon causing it to become sleepy.

| Trap | When this card is activated all face up monsters have their attack and defense points lowered by their level times 100.

Tengu Chick

Dark | Level 2 | Winged-Beast/Effect | 800/600 | When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard you may Special Summon one level three or lower 'Tengu' monster from your Deck.

Dark Tengu Slasher

Dark | Level 6 | Winged-Beast/Effect | 2400/1900 | If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle it can attack again in a row as long it attack another monster.

Storm's Degeneration

Image: A blast of red flames tearing apart Labyrinth Wall.

| Continuous Trap | If a monster you control destroys an opponent's monster by battle inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent's Life Points.

Manipulator Psychic

Dark | Level 2 | Psychic/Effect | 850/400 | Once per turn you may select one face up monster on your opponent's side of the field and take control of it. When a monster you control that was gained by this card's effect is removed from the field you take damage equal to the removed monster's level times 400.

Suzaku – Dark Tengu Phoenix

Dark | Level 9 | Winged-Beast/Effect | 2900/2600 | You can release three monsters when you Advance Summon this card. If you do you may destroy every Spell and Trap or every monster on your opponent's side of the field.

Psy-Elder

Earth | Level 3 | Psychic/Effect | 1100/800 | If this card inflicts damage to your opponent's Life Points increase your Life Points equal to the amount of damage this card inflicted.

Psy-Striker

Earth | Level 3 | Psychic/Tuner | 1300/600 | If this card inflicts damage to your opponent's Life Points you may pay 800 Life Points to Special Summon one level four or lower Psychic type monster from your Graveyard.

Dark Tengu Legend

Dark | Level 4 | Winged-Beast | 0/0 | This card cannot be Special Summoned. When this card attacks it gains attack points equal to the attack points of the attack target plus 500. If this card destroys a monster as a result of battle inflict damage to the owner of the destroyed monster equal to the level of the destroyed monster times 200. If this card attacks it is switched into defense mode. This card's battle mode cannot be changed until the end of the next turn, except by card effects.

Magical Duplication

Image: Arcanite Magician creating a copy of Pot of Greed.

| Quick-Play Spell | Discard one card to activate this card. You may only chain this card to the activation of a Spell card, this card's effect becomes the same effect as the previous card on the chain.


	22. Ch22: Revenge

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twenty-Two: Revenge

While the tournament was going on one of the competitors was visiting New Domino Cemetery. It was a familiar white haired boy dressed in his usual brown duster jacket. His fedora wasn't on his head revealing his hair was spiky at the front but flat at the back.

He placed a bouquet of flowers in front of a tombstone and smiled. "Hey grandma, I'm doing fine so is mom and dad is due back from England in a week or two," Vincent sighed.

The tombstone read. 'Here lies Kate Naruka-Merchet, a loving mother and caring grandmother.'

Vincent smiled and then frowned. His grandmother had passed away a year ago but she'd given him some advice her took to heart.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned around. Standing there was Reina. "Oh it's you Vincent, how's the tournament been treating you?" she asked.

"So far so good, I've won a few duels, and you?" he replied not taking his eyes off another tombstone.

Reina walked over and looked at the two tombstones. "Reiko Taozi, why does that name sound familiar?" Reina muttered aloud.

"It's because she's a murder victim and a member of the family that murdered her is standing beside you!" a rage filled voice snarled.

Reina and Vincent spun around to see a teenage boy with short black hair and green eyes covered by a pair of square rimmed glasses glaring at Vincent. He wore a red t-shirt with a yin yang symbol on it, and a pair of black jeans on his arm was a silver Duel Disk with the kanji for divine written on the blue gem.

"Oh it's just you Vic," Vincent murmured.

"Damn right it's me you bastard!" Vic roared. "After all these years I'll finally have vengeance for my lost great aunt Reiko!"

"I don't want to duel you Vic, I'm sick and tired of this shit," Vincent spat. "So take your crap about revenge and go away, unless you're here to visit her grave."

"Shut up!" Vic hissed. "You and I are going to duel whether you like it or not!" Vic roared as dark fog began to surround the three teenagers.

"What in the…," Reina gasped. "You started a Darkness Game, are you stupid?"

"Shut your trap you bitch!" Vic snarled. "This is between me and this spawn of the spawn of a murderer!"

Vincent growled. "Vic I don't care when you insult me, but I won't let you insult my friends, and unfortunately I know the only way to get out of this is to duel."

"Yes and when you lose you're soul will be fed to The Wicked Avatar," Vic said evilly.

"I should've figured you'd work for Archer," Vincent said pulling a sucker out of his pocket. He quickly popped it into his mouth. "Let's duel!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Vic laughed.

**(Vincent: 8000) - (Vic: 8000)**

"I'll start us off," Vic sneered. "I summon Chick of Excelion!" in a burst of flames a small Dragon appeared, it had silver scales and a mane of fiery blue hair. (ATK 200/DEF 100)

"To my monster's summoning I chain Trap Booster and thanks to it I can discard one card, in this case my Discard Clause to activate a Trap from my hand like Chain Destruction, and since my Dragon has less than 2000 attack points all other copies in my hand or Deck are destroyed!" a black chain flew out of the card and into Vic's Deck.

He took the two cards that popped out of his Deck and slid them into his Graveyard. "Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," he said.

Vincent drew and looked at his hand. "I activate Hand Destruction so now we each send two cards from our hand to the Graveyard then we draw two new ones," both Vincent and Vic pulled two cards off the top of their Deck after dropping two cards from their hands into the Graveyard.

"Now I'll summon Hydro Rider to the field!" in a burst of water appeared a monster dressed in dark blue armor, in her hands she held a trident. (ATK 1300/DEF 800)

"Now I activate the Spell card Eternal Bond!" the Spell card showed a young child wrapping their arms around the neck of what looked like a younger version of Darkness Dragon. "This card allows me to select a Warrior type monster on my side of the field and then if I have a Dragon with the same Attribute as the selected Warrior in my Graveyard I can Special Summon the Dragon, so meet Hydro Dragon in defense mode!" a giant pillar of water appeared next to the Rider and from it a large Dragon with blue scales and two conical horns sticking out of the back of its head. (ATK 2400/DEF 1600)

"I'll chain Demise of the Land!" Vic shouted. "Since you just Special Summoned a monster I can activate a Field Spell in my Deck, like Excelion Kingdom!" the dark void suddenly shifted so that the three were now standing on a sea of clouds and in the distance Reina could make out a large blue and silver castle. (ATK 200-600/DEF 100-500)

"I know you remember this card Vincent so I'll explain it for your friend, this card increases the attack and defense points of all Excelion monsters by 400 as well as decreasing the level of all Excelion monsters in the hand and on the field by one and also anytime an Excelion monster is Special Summon it is considered to be Normal Summoned," Vic explained.

"I didn't even know they expanded upon the Excelion set and who in the Hell are you?" Reina asked.

"I'm Victor Taozi the grandson of Takeru Taozi and son of Minoto Taozi and I'm out for revenge against this bastard!" Vic snarled gesturing to Vincent.

"Ok but why do you want revenge," Reina questioned.

"I want revenge because his grandmother Kate Merchet, formerly Naruka killed my grandmother!" Vic snarled.

"What!" Reina gasped staring shocked at Vincent.

"It's a complicated story Reina," Vincent sighed.

"I've got nowhere to go, I'm all ears," Reina said.

"Well about forty years ago, well ok actually starting before that my grandmother and his great aunt were best friends, and my grandmother could never beat Reiko in a duel or anything for that matter, but one day well she did just that, and Reiko started to hate her for it," Vincent began.

"It sounds like she was a sore loser," Reina muttered only to be silenced by a snarl from Vic.

"Well Reiko was a the youngest child in the Taozi family, and to them being the best is everything, so when she lost her brothers and sisters ridiculed her mercilessly so I kind of understand why she got so upset," Vincent said. "After that they became very fierce rivals but it came to a head forty years ago. Reiko joined up with a cult who planned on using the seven Millennium Items, which they'd managed to recreate via the help of some evil spell. My grandmother and her friends took on the cult and managed to duel their way to their inner sanctuary, where they were forced to split up and the group my grandmother was a part of met up with Reiko, who'd dueled and defeated my grandmother in a non-Darkness Game duel a few days earlier. They squared off in a Darkness Game with terrible stakes, the loser would die, they'd be burnt to a crisp my flames from the darkness, needless to say Reiko lost and perished, most of Reiko's family covered it up only my family knows the truth and some of Reiko's brothers' and sisters' descendents harbour vengeful feelings towards my family."

Vic started to clap. "Still clinging to a murder's lies aren't we Vincent?" he asked mockingly.

"It isn't a lie Vic!" Vincent roared. "If you'd have just let me show you I could've proved to you Reiko was evil, my grandmother begged and pleaded with her to try to surrender at the same time so they'd be spared, but no Reiko had to settle the score, she was so drunk on power it destroyed her!"

"Shut up!" Vic snapped. "You're grandmother is the one who killed her and for that I'll have my vengeance!"

"Fine if you won't listen to reason I'll beat it into you!" Vincent said sadly. "Hydro Rider attack his Chick with Tidal Wave Trident!" the blue armored Warrior spun her weapon around and fired a wave of water towards the tiny Dragon.

"Fool, I'm activating my face down card!" Vic laughed. "Excelion Rising, now I release an Excelion monster on my side of the field and then I can Special Summon an Excelion monster from my hand, so goodbye to my Chick of Excelion and say hello to Divine Dragon – Excelion!" the small Dragon was consumed in a burst of silver flames and in its place appeared a larger silver Dragon with a serpentine body and a long mane of blue and silver hair, and four yellow eyes appeared. (ATK 1500-1900/DEF 900-1300)

"I take it you remember this monster?" Vic asked sarcastically. "Well once again for your friend I'll explain his effects, which when he is Normal Summoned allows me to choose among his three effects and activate one for every Divine Dragon – Excelion in my Graveyard and I have three!"

"I'm guessing your Chick of Excelion counts as Divine Dragon – Excelion," Reina said.

"You're definitely a great deal smarter than most people I face, who seem to think I'm cheating," Vic snickered. "But yes you hit the proverbial nail on the head, so I'll activate all three of this my Dragon's effects. One of which allows him to gain 1000 attack points!" the grand Dragon started to grow bigger. (ATK 1900-2900/DEF 1300)

"I use my right of replay to cancel my attack, then I'll move to my second Main Phase and equip my Rider to her mount!" the female Warrior did a perfect back flip onto the Dragon's back.

"Now I'll end my turn with a face down card," Vincent said.

"Fine then it's my turn!" Vic laughed. "I summon Lancer of Excelion!" a man in silver and blue armor holding a large lance walked onto the field. (ATK 1400-1800/DEF 1000-1400) "I think you remember his effect but let me explain it any way. As long as he remains face up on the field all Excelion monsters inflict piercing damage!"

"Now Lancer attack his worthless excuse for a Dragon!" the lance wielding Warrior charged forward after uttering a loud battle cry. But just as he was about to strike the Dragon the Rider on its back jumped off and took the hit.

**(Vincent: 7800) - (Vic: 8000)**

"Now I…!" Vic began only to be interrupted.

"Hold up Vic I'm activating my Trap card, Broken Union!" the Trap card depicted a large light blue Dragon standing over the dead body of a knight in light blue armor. "You see my Dragon's and Riders have formed a deep bond and if that bond is broken it causes the other to be devastated, so this Trap card ends the current Phase in honour of the fallen one."

"Fine I'll end my turn," Vic snarled.

"I activate Pot of Greed!" Vincent shouted and the grinning jar appeared and he drew twice. "Now I'll activate the Spell card Reformed Bonds! This card allows me to select a Dragon on my side of the field and select a Warrior type monster in my with the same Attribute as the selected Dragon on the field I can Special Summon the other monster," in a burst of water Hydro Rider appeared on the field.

"Now Hydro Rider do your thing and join with Hydro Dragon!" the Rider nodded and jumped on her companion's back. "Now I'll equip my Hydro Dragon with Rainbow Veil!" a rainbow coloured aura began to surround the Dragon.

"Huh, I've never heard of that Equip Spell before, what does it do?" Vic asked.

"Quite simple my dear former friend," Vincent grinned and Vic snarled. "If my Hydro Dragon battles a monster that monster's effects are negated," he explained and Vic's face turned ghostly white.

"Hydro Dragon attack his Divine Dragon!" Hydro Dragon roared and fired a ball of water (ATK 2900-1900/DEF 1300). It slammed into the silver Dragon shattering it.

**(Vincent: 7800) - (Vic: 7500)**

"Oh and Vic lets not forget my Hydro Rider's Union effect, it inflicts damage to your Life Points equal to your monster's attack points!" Hydro Dragon rushed forward and head butted Vic in the chest causing him to fly back.

**(Vincent: 7800) - (Vic: 6000)**

"Ummm Hydro Dragon I know you normally do that represent your effect, and I may not like Vic very much, but I don't want him to die, so please don't do that again," Vincent asked.

"I understand my liege, and lady Fudo I am sorry for the trouble my comrades and their companions caused you," Hydro Rider said in a gentle voice.

"What the Hell you can talk!" Vincent shouted in surprise.

"Apparently during some Darkness Games our monsters are literally alive, almost like when I use my powers," Reina muttered.

The Lancer went to help his fallen master to his feet only to for Vic to slap his hand away. "Don't touch me you tool!" he snarled.

"Hey!" Vincent hissed. "He's not a tool he has feelings and emotions!"

"Ha, right this is just an effect of the Darkness Game used to weed out the weak, they're just ink on paper, for us they're just tools with which to fight!" Vic sneered. "They have no more feelings than a gun or a knife!"

"Vic….," Vincent sighed. "Reiko thought the same thing, and unlike my grandmother who was protected by her monsters she was forced to take every hit from the flames because her monsters wouldn't risk themselves to protect someone they hated oh ya and I end my turn with a face down card."

"Bah, you're a fool, and more so than I think because you are truly deluded by your putrid family's lies." Vic scoffed. "Hey girlie want to know what really happened?"

"My name is Reina jerk, and if your great aunt acted anything like you I'm very inclined to believe what Vincent says," Reina snapped. "But I'm willing to listen to your side of the story."

"Well what he said about the evil cult thing and the victory earlier was true, as well as the shame my aunt felt from that _one_ loss," Vic began. "But then things get different, one of Reiko's brothers told me it was really Kate who started the Darkness Game and who had joined the evil cult because she was jealous of Reiko's skills and because she was drunk on the power of the Millennium Item."

"But believe what you want to, I believe his grandmother's friends covered for Kate after the incident was over and she pretended to be good, but never got a chance for further evil!" he snarled. "But I'll summon another Divine Dragon!" in a burst of flames another Divine Dragon appeared. (ATK 1500-2900/DEF 900-1300)

"Now I activate Excelion's Flames, and now your Dragon is about to die!" Excelion roared and Hydro Dragon burst into flames. The Dragon and Rider howled in agony as the flames consumed them.

"Huh, wait how'd you destroy Vincent's Dragon if it still had a Rider?" Reina asked.

"I didn't destroy it, Excelion's Flame can only be activated when I have face up Divine Dragon – Excelion or another monster whose name shall for now remain unsaid, I select one face up monster on the field and send it to the Graveyard, but in exchange my Divine Dragon can't attack," Vic explained. "But my Lancer sure can!" the lance wielding monster looked back at Vic with worry in his eyes and then lunged at Vincent.

Vincent dodged the attack but the Warrior whispered something. "Please save my master, he can't end up like poor lady Reiko," then he jumped back.

**(Vincent: 6000) - (Vic: 6000)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Vic said with a smirk.

Vincent drew and scowled. _"Damn nothing that can bring down that Dragon, but I do have a card that could help,"_ he thought. "Granny Kate is this how it felt to face her, know that someone you considered a friend, who'd been turned against you was being controlled by a madman through anger and hate?" he whispered to himself.

"I'll set a card face down and activate Emergency Recharge and since when I played this card I have no cards in my hand I can draw four cards!" Vincent's Deck began to glow and he pulled four cards off his Deck.

"Now I'm going to activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and after drawing three cards Vincent handed her two. "And I'll follow that up with Monster Reborn to resurrect my Ice Dragon!" in a burst of ice crystals the Dragon seen on Broken Union appeared. (ATK 2700/DEF 1900)

"And thanks to his effect I can call out Ice Rider from my hand!" in another burst of ice the Rider having been seen dead on the previously named Trap card appeared, he held a spear with a blade shaped like a snowflake. (ATK 1600/DEF 1300)

"Ok Ice Rider join with your soul partner!" Ice Rider nodded and jumped on pale Dragon's back. (ATK 2700-2900/DEF 1900-2100)

"Ice Dragon attack his Lancer with Instant Freeze!" the Dragon opened its maw and unleashed a blizzard freezing the Warrior solid.

**(Vincent: 6000) - (Vic: 4800)**

"Now I can activate the effect my Rider grants my Dragon, and since I inflicted damage I can choose a Phase and when your turn rolls around you must skip that Phase, so let's go with Battle Phase!" Vincent grinned Ice Dragon fired a burst of ice from its jaw freezing over Vic's Duel Disk.

"Ok I'll end my turn," he added.

Vic drew and scowled. "I'll pass."

Vincent drew and looked over his hand. _"I have a pretty good idea what he just drew,"_ he thought. "Ok I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"I summon General of Excelion!" in another burst of flames appeared a man in a silver and blue military uniform. (ATK 1000-1400/DEF 1000-1400)

"Now I'll activate my newest monster's effect and give up his attack this turn to empower all Excelion monsters by 1000 until the End Phase!" the General gave a loud war cry and the Divine Dragon roared in response. (ATK 2900-3900/DEF 1300)

"Now since I'm entering my Battle Phase I can discard Battle Strategist of Excelion to allow one face up Excelion monster to attack an extra time this turn!" the spirit of a woman in a military uniform similar to the General appeared and phased into the silver Dragon. "Divine Dragon destroy his Rider with your Hyperion Flames!" the silver Dragon roared firing a blast of blue flames that headed straight for Ice Dragon, only for the Rider to jump off and take the hit. (ATK 2900-2700/DEF 2100-1900)

**(Vincent: 5000) - (Vic: 4800)**

"Divine Dragon attack again with Hyperion Flames number two!" the Dragon roared again and spewed another blast of flames. They struck the weaker Dragon who howled in pain and shattered.

"And don't forget one of my Divine Dragon's effects is the same as the one your pathetic Hydro Rider give to that worthless excuse for a Dragon!" Vic laughed.

**(Vincent: 8900) - (Vic: 4800)**

He stopped laughing and snarled. "How in the Hell did your Life Points go up, they should've plunged!"

"Simple really, I activated my Rainbow Life when your attack hit, so by discarding my Discard Clause all Life Points damage this turn is turned into Life Points gain, it's a card combo my grandmother taught me well minus Discard Clause she lacked that," Vincent grinned.

"She didn't have a Discard Clause, weird it's not like it's a rare card," Reina said.

"So Vic old buddy care to attack me again, I could use some more Life Points," Vincent snickered and Vic seethed with rage.

"Never call me buddy!" he roared. "I stopped being friends with you when I found out what your family had gotten away with! In fact I swore revenge!"

"That is the stupidest way of thinking I've ever heard!" Reina snapped. "For God's sake Vincent had nothing to do with it!"

"What do you know!" Vic snarled.

"I know revenge solves nothing!" Reina yelled so loudly and so angrily Vic stepped back. "Revenge nearly killed my parents and it just about cost two people their lives, so never ever ask me what I know about revenge!"

"Hmph, like I care what you say," Vic spat.

"I'll end my turn," he growled. (ATK 3900-2900/DEF 1300)

"Ok first I'm going to activate Dragonic Greed, this allows me to discard a monster with Dragon in its name to draw twice!" Vincent shouted. "Next up I'll summon my ever trusty Solar Rider!" in a burst of light the golden armored Warrior jumped onto the field. (ATK 1800/DEF 1800)

"The follower's of Excelion and the Dragon himself," the Rider muttered. "I hoped this would never happen again."

"I'm sorry it had to Solar Rider, I feel the same way," Vincent said. "I activate Dragonic Revival to revive the Solar Dragon in my Graveyard!" the ground split open and the golden armored Dragon rose from the ground. (ATK 2600/DEF 2200) "Of course since his partner is on the field and not in my hand, I get to draw one card."

"Solar Rider I activate your effect!" Solar Rider nodded and jumped onto the Dragon's back. (ATK 2600-3000/DEF 2200-2600)

"I'll discard a card to activate my Solar Rider's effect and vaporize your so called Divine Dragon!" Solar Dragon snarled and fired a burst of light that struck the Divine Dragon vaporizing it.

"Now since my Solar Dragon can't attack if I use that effect I'll end my turn with a card face down," he said.

"I activate Excelion's Fury!" Vic roared. "I can only activate this card during the Standby Phase after an Excelion monster was destroyed, now I can revive any destroyed monsters and eradicate one of your!" Divine Dragon – Excelion appeared in another burst of flames and Solar Rider exploded. (ATK 3000-2600/DEF 2600-2200) (ATK 1500-2900/DEF 900-1300)

"Excelion attack his pathetic Dragon with your mighty Hyperion Flames!" the newly revive Dragon roared and fired a blast of flames. They incinerated Vincent's Dragon and headed straight for him. But before it could die Solar Dragon deflected the flames.

**(Vincent: 5800) - (Vic: 4800)**

"Now since my Divine Dragon destroyed one of your worthless monsters it can attack again kill him and avenge your former mistress with Hyperion Flames!" the Dragon snarled and ran over to Vincent shocking all three duelists.

"I'll remove the Rider's Pride I discarded by my Solar Rider's effect!" Vincent cried.

A card fell out of Vincent's Graveyard and he threw it in front of him. It created a barrier stopping the Dragon from killing him. But he could hear a pained voice crying out to him. _"Please stop it master, it hurts and your anger makes me sad,"_ the voice pleaded and Vincent noticed a tear rolling down the silver Dragon's giant cheek.

"_You're in pain, and Vic's anger is making you sad?"_ Vincent thought.

"_His anger is much like my former master's and it cost her, her life and I'm in pain please you must stop him!"_ the Dragon begged. Vincent nodded.

"Fine General attack him directly!" Vic roared!

The solider ran forward and punched Vincent in the stomach.

**(Vincent: 4400) - (Vic: 4800)**

"I'll end my turn by setting a face down card," Vic growled.

Vincent plucked a card off the top of his Deck and grinned. "I summon Darkness Warrior!" in a burst of shadows the black armored Warrior stepped onto the field. (ATK 1500/DEF 1200)

"Now I activate my face down card Dragon's Union, and since my Darkness Rider is obviously a Dark Attribute monster I can call out the mighty Darkness Dragon!" in an even larger burst of shadows the wicked looking Dragon appeared and snarled at the Divine Dragon. (ATK 2600/DEF 2000) "Of course since I lack Darkness Rider in my hand I can draw once."

"Now I activate one of my favourite Continuous Spell cards Union of Soul, this will allow my Dragon's to gain power in more ways than one from their partners in game terms it means any monster equipped with a Union monster gains attack points equal to the Union monster's level times 100, so Darkness Rider do it!" the black armored Warrior jumped onto the Dragon's back. (ATK 2600-3000/DEF 2000)

"Darkness Dragon attack his Divine Dragon with Shadow Stream!" the black Dragon roared and breathed a stream of pure darkness that consumed the beast of light who howled in agony.

**(Vincent: 4400) - (Vic: 4700)**

"I'll activate Dragon Draw and since the only kind of monster I control is Dragon I draw twice!" Darkness Dragon began to glow and the white haired duelist pulled two cards off the top of his Deck. "I'll end my turn with a single face down card."

Vic snarled and drew. "I'll set a monster face down and then shift my General to defense mode!" a set monster appeared and the General crouched down and raised his arms to defend himself.

"Well normally that would've been a stupid move, but since I have a guess what your face down monster is I'll have my Darkness Dragon vaporize your General!" the black Dragon growled and fired another wave of darkness that swallowed the monster before he could even scream.

**(Vincent: 4400) - (Vic: 3100)**

"I'll end my turn with another face down," Vincent said.

"I summon my final Divine Dragon!" Vic roared and in a burst of light the silver Dragon appeared it like the previous one begged Vincent to stop Vic. (ATK 1500-2900/DEF 900-1300)

"Now I'll flip my face down monster face up, meet my Warrior of Excelion!" the monster that appeared in place of the face down monster was female and dressed in silver and blue robes and holding a silver pike with a blue blade. (ATK 1600-2000/DEF 1100-1500)

"Now I'll activate Gift of the Martyr and give up my Warrior to power up my Divine Dragon by my Warrior's original attack points!" the female Warrior dissolved into motes of light that were absorbed by the silver Dragon. (ATK 2900-4500/DEF 900-1300)

"Now before I toast your weak Dragon I'll activate a classic Heavy Storm!" the fierce wind kicked up causing both of Vincent's face down's and the Rider to shatter but the Dragon and Rider duelist grinned. (ATK 3000-2600/DEF 2000)

"Thanks one of those cards was my Dummy Marker and since it got totalled by _your_ Spell effect I can draw an extra time," he laughed as he pulled two cards off his Deck.

"Wait how is his castle still standing?" Reina inquired.

"It's final effect, if he controls a Divine Dragon it can't be destroyed," Vincent explained.

"Yes and my face down card was Excelion's Favour and since it was destroyed and sent to the destroyed and sent to the Graveyard if during this turn an Excelion monster destroys one of your monster's by battle I can draw one card for every two level the destroyed monster had, rounded down of course," Vic sneered. "Divine Dragon attack his pathetic Dragon with Hyperion Flames!" the silver Dragon fired a blast of flames that struck Vincent's Dragon reducing it to ashes.

**(Vincent: 2500) - (Vic: 3100)**

"Huh your Life Points should be at zero!" Vic snarled.

"Actually the other card I had set was Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment," Vincent said point to his feet revealing a glowing blue circle. "So I take no effect damage during this turn."

"It doesn't matter because your time on this earth is up!" Vic roared. "Excelion kill him with your second attack!" the silver Dragon fired another blast of flames.

Anther card fell out of Vincent's Graveyard and he threw it forward. A man with long white hair dressed in spiked armor appeared and blocked the attack. "Looks like I get to live a little bit longer," Vincent chuckled. "I take it you remember good old Necro Gardna, he may be limited now, but I had room in my Deck for him, thank God."

"FOOL YOU DARE TO MOCK ME!" Vic exploded. "I WILL BURN YOU TO ASHES THEN SCATTER YOUR ASHES TO THE FARTHEST REACHES OF THIS WORLD!"

"Vic I take it you haven't been going to anger management?" Vincent asked sarcastically. "I'm not mocking you, I'm doing what granny Kate always did, I'm making the best of a crappy situation."

"Shut up your walking pile of crap!" Vic hissed. "I'm going to make sure you and everyone in your family pays for killing Reiko!"

"But why should they pay?" Reina asked. "They aren't the one's who ended her life, to be fair from what Vince said it sounds like she killed herself."

"I prefer to be called Vincent," the white haired duelist said with a goofy grin.

"Silence you worthless bitch!" Vic snapped. "You know nothing of the pain my family has felt because a murderer got off scot free!"

Reina actually flinched but Vincent only growled. "Leave Reina alone she hasn't done anything wrong unless voicing her opinion is wrong to you?"

"The thing she's done wrong is befriend the spawn of the spawn of a murderer like you, and when I'm done with you she'll suffer as well!" Vic roared his face turning red.

"I'll end my turn with two face down cards," he added. (ATK 4500-2900/DEF 1300)

Vincent drew and smiled. "I activate Dragonic Soul Offering and remove my Hydro Rider so that this turn if I Normal Summon a Dragon type monster I can count her as the release and I'll do just that, do arise Electro Dragon!" in a burst of electricity appeared a Dragon with dark blue scales and a lightning bolt shaped horn. (ATK 2500/DEF 1600)

"Thanks to his effect I'm allowed to call forth the Electro Rider in my hand!" in another burst of electricity the Dragon's Rider jumped onto the field. (ATK 1700/DEF 1400)

"Now I'll equip my Rider to his mount!" the spear wielding Rider jumped into the air and landed on the Dragon's back. "Then I'll activate the powerful Spell card Fighting as One! This allows me to select a Dragon type monster equipped with a Warrior type monster and increase the attack points of the Dragon by half the attack points of the Warrior!" energy crackled around Electro Dragon and it roared as did its Rider. (ATK 2500-3350/DEF 1600)

"Electro Dragon attack his Divine Dragon with Combined Electric Burst Stream!" the Rider raised his spear which began to glow and the Dragon parted its jaws the both let loose a furious war cry and fired a huge blast of electricity. It struck the Divine Dragon who screamed in agony as he died.

**(Vincent: 2500) - (Vic: 2650)**

"Now I'll end my turn with two face down cards," he said. (ATK 3350-2500/DEF 1600)

Vic drew and the Excelion duelist began to laugh maniacally. "I now hold the key to your death!" he howled. "I activate Dragon's Mirror and remove the three, Divine Dragon – Excelions in my Graveyard to call forth my ultimate destroyer!" a huge mirror framed by a golden Dragon appeared, the three removed monsters appeared in it. It exploded and Reina covered her eyes because of the blinding burst of light that the new monster emitted.

After a minute the light faded and she and Vincent opened their eyes and gasped. The monster before them was huge with shimmering silver scales and a huge mane of silver and blue hair that danced like a raging fire, the most noticeable feature was the three heads all of which looked like Divine Dragon – Excelion's head only much larger. (ATK 4500-4900/DEF 2700-3100)

"That thing is bigger and more powerful than Seto Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Reina gasped.

"So that's Excelion Ultima eh?" Vincent chuckled. "You remember the first duel between my grandmother and Reiko I mentioned? The one where Reiko defeated my grandmother."

"I do," Reina responded.

"It was than thing Reiko used to beat her, in fact the final attack or should I say attacks hit Kate so hard she was actually knocked unconscious," Vincent said. "Then during their second and final duel of that week Reiko summoned it again only this time my grandmother triumphed and defeated it winning the duel."

"That won't be happening this time because I activate Excelion Ultima's second effect and remove two Excelion monsters from my Graveyard to have it attack twice this turn so prepare to die Vincent Merchet!" Vic laughed as two of his Chick's fell out of his Graveyard. "Excelion Ultima end this with Supreme Hyperion Blaze!" the three heads each unleashed a stream of sliver and blue flames. They smote the much smaller Dragon but only the Rider cried out in pain and exploded.

**(Vincent: 100) - (Vic: 2650)**

"This is wear it ends, now die by my monster's second attack!" the gigantic tri headed Dragon roared and fired another burst of flames. They struck the Dragon killing it instantly.

"Yes it's over!" Vic laughed. "Reiko Taozi you are avenged!"

"Not….just….yet!" Vincent yelled jumping to his feet, having been sent flying by the force of the last attack.

"You should've been killed by that last attack!" Vic roared.

"I would've had it not been for my Dark Dragon's Apprentice, he can be discarded to negate the damage from a battle involving a Dragon monster, all damage is reduced to zero," Vincent grinned.

"Fine I end my turn, but this shall be your last turn, on mine I shall end this!" Vic snarled.

Vincent drew. "No Vic, that won't be happening because this is the final turn!" he cried. "I activate Anti Negation Field!" a blue electric aura erupted from the card covering Vincent's field. "So long as this card remains activate the effect of cards both of us play cannot be negated!"

"No that can only mean one thing!" Vic cried in disbelief.

"No I'm not summoning the dream team, just one half of it, I activate my Call of the Haunted and revive Solar Dragon!" in a burst of light and dirt the golden armored Dragon appeared. "Now I'll activate Adamantine Sword and since I just Special Summoned my Solar Dragon from the Graveyard I can call out Diamond Head Dragon from my Deck by releasing my Solar Dragon!" the Spell card began to glow and Solar Dragon started to change, it grew several feet larger and its scales turn emerald green and finally a huge egg shaped diamond sprouted from its head. (ATK ?/DEF 2800)

"As you may know Vic this monster's attack points are those of the Dragon used to summon him plus 1000!" Diamond Head Dragon roared causing the whole dome to shake. (ATK ?-3600/DEF 2800)

"It's not enough your Dragon and you will perish next turn!" Vic sneered.

"No Vic, like I said this is the final turn because I activate Call of the Ultimate Rider and with this card I can bring forth the mightiest and leader of the Riders the Divine Rider!" from a burst of light almost as bright as the sun appeared a magnificent monster. They were garbed in shining armor, the leg armor was blue the chest armor was red and the helmet and shoulder armor was gold yellow the helm being shaped like a famous golden God monster, on the monsters back were a pair of metallic feathered wings and in their hands were two golden broad swords. (ATK 2300/DEF 2100)

"Divine Rider is the very first Rider ever, so he or she I can't tell, may equip themselves to any monster that bares the word Dragon in their name like my Diamond Head Dragon!" the first Rider spread their wings and flew onto the diamond covered Dragon's back.

"And as the first Rider they're by far the most powerful effect, they grant their mount 400 attack and defense point for every one of their fallen comrades and in case you've lost count that's nine for me!" Diamond Head Dragon started to grow until it towered over Excelion Ultima. (ATK 3600-6400/DEF 2800-5600)

Vic looked terrified but quickly regained his composure. "That thing may have attack points higher than the Five Headed Dragon but I'll still have Life Points left after the attack!" he laughed.

"You would if I didn't activate a deadly Spell card Offensive Defense this card allows me to select a face up monster I control that is in attack mode and add half of its current defense points to its attack points and I only have one monster!" Diamond Head Dragon started to glow and began to grow in size until it was unbelievably huge. (ATK 6400-9200/DEF 5600)

"Diamond Head Dragon end this with **Divine Diamond Burst Stream**!" the enormous Dragon roared and fired a wave of sharp diamonds from its maw. Excelion Ultima screamed in pain and Vic was sent flying backwards from the impact of the attack.

**(Vincent: 100) - (Vic: 0)**

The fog began to fade and Vincent collapsed to his knees breathing hard. "Reina is Vic alright or at least alive," he asked.

Reina ran over and Vic was alive and even conscious or at least it looked that way. His eyes were wide open and he was staring at the tombstone he'd landed by. It was his great aunt's. "I'm sorry Reiko I…..I….f…f….failed you," he whispered as the last of the darkness tore his soul from his body.

"The lights are no, but no one is home," Reina said sadly. "His soul has been claimed by Archer!"

"I'm sorry Vic, but I swear on my Riders and Dragons I'll do everything in my power to save you!" Vincent declared.

"_Well said and I hope you can do just that,"_ a voice said. The two teens blinked in confusion and turned their heads to the side. Standing their was a young woman, she looked around fifteen or sixteen with black hair tied into a short ponytail high on the back of her head, she had green eyes and wore a pair of small circular glasses on her nose and was dressed in a red sweater with a yin yang symbol on it and blue jeans. The most notable thing about her was she was almost see through.

"Ghost!" Vincent screamed jumping behind a tombstone in fright. "Stay away!"

"What the….?" Reina gasped looking over at her cowering friend. "You just faced down a huge three headed Dragon that was almost as powerful as the two most powerful monsters in all of Duel Monsters and you're scared of a freaking ghost!"

"Yes I'm very afraid of ghosts!" Vincent shot back.

"_I mean you no harm,"_ the ghost girl said. _"I'm the spirit of Reiko Taozi and I'm here say I support you in your effort to save my grandnephew and defeat Archer, unfortunately I can only offer moral support."_

"Wait shouldn't you be cursing his name?" Reina asked pointing to a still cowering Vincent.

Reiko looked at her feet and frowned. _"I should thank him well his late grandmother, it's because of her my soul was save from eternal damnation,"_ she said. _"So please young man I beg you save Vic and make him believe I was the foolish one not your grandmother who I realize was the best friend I ever had."_

"O….ok….I'll…t…try," Vincent stuttered.

Reiko smiled and started to fade. _"I wish you and all others who fight against the Gods that devour other Gods the best of luck,"_ she said before disappearing.

"Well that was one of the strangest things I've ever seen," Reina muttered pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. It rung for a moment then someone answered. "Hello I'd like to report a boy has been found unconscious in the New Domino Cemetery," she said before hanging up.

"So what do we do now?" Vincent asked coming out from behind the tombstone.

"We stay here and if the Securities show we'll ask to talk to Chief Trudge, he'll help up out," Reina said. "Did you mean what you said?"

"Of course I'll use every ounce of my power to if I get the chance to defeat Archer and then I'll force Vic to see the proof I have!" Vincent declared proudly.

"I hope that works," Reina muttered.

**Josh: That was one intense duel.**

**Melissa: Yes when Vincent duels it kind of gets that way.**

**Zeke: I must admit I really liked those Excelion cards.**

**Reina: Imagine having a front row seat!**

**Vincent: Well the next chapter features Rob and it's called: Dark and Light.**

**Rob: I sense an age old showdown.**

**Original Cards**

Chick of Excelion

Light | Level 1 | Dragon/Effect | 200/100 | As long as this card remains in the Graveyard its name is treated as 'Divine Dragon – Excelion'

Hydro Rider

Water | Level 3 | Warrior/Effect | 1300/800 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a Hydro Dragon you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. When the monster this card is equipped to destroys an opponent's monster and sends it to the Graveyard inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the destroyed monster's attack points.

Eternal Bond

Image: A small child wrapping their arms around the neck of what appears to be a young Darkness Dragon.

| Spell | Select a Warrior monster on your side of the field and a Dragon type monster in your Graveyard with the same Attribute as the selected Warrior. Special Summon the selected Dragon monster, it may not attack this turn.

Hydro Dragon

Water | Level 6 | Dragon/Effect | 2400/1600 | When this monster is summoned you may Special Summon one Hydro Rider from your hand. If you don't have a 'Hydro Rider' in your hand when you summon this card, you may draw one card.

Excelion Kingdom

Image: A large shining silver and blue castle on a sea of clouds.

| Field Spell | As long as this card remains active the levels of all 'Excelion' monsters in either player's hands and on the field are reduced by one and any 'Excelion' monster that is Special Summoned is also treated as being Normal Summoned. Increase the attack and defense points of all monsters with 'Excelion' in their name by 400. If you control a Divine Dragon – Excelion or Excelion Ultima this card cannot be destroyed by card effects.

Excelion Rising

Image: Divine Dragon – Excelion bursting out of the ground surrounded by a pillar of light.

| Trap | Release one 'Excelion' monster on your side of the field to Special Summon an 'Excelion' monster from your hand.

Lancer of Excelion

Light | Level 3 | Warrior/Effect | 1400/1000 | As long as this card remains face up during the battle between an attacking 'Excelion' monster and a defense mode monster your opponent controls with lower defense points than the attack points of the 'Excelion' monster, inflict the difference as battle damage to your opponent.

Broken Union

Image: Ice Dragon standing over the body of a fallen Ice Rider.

| Trap | Activate this only when a 'Dragon' or 'Rider' monster is destroyed. (You may activate this card if the 'Rider' monster was being treated as a Spell card.) End the current Phase immediately.

Reformed Bonds

Image: The same image from Broke Union only Ice Rider is getting to their feet.

| Quick-Play Spell | Select a Dragon type monster on your side of the field and a Warrior type monster in your Graveyard with the same Attribute as the selected Dragon, Special Summon the selected Warrior type monster.

Excelion's Flames

Image: Divine Dragon – Excelion firing a blast of flames at Dark Magician Girl while Dark Magician watches in horror.

| Spell | Activate this card only while you control a face up 'Divine Dragon – Excelion' or 'Excelion Ultima'. Send one face up monster on your opponent's side of the field to the Graveyard. 'Divine Dragon – Excelion' and 'Excelion Ultima' cannot attack this turn.

Ice Dragon

Water | Level 7 | Dragon/Effect | 2700/1900 | When this monster is summoned you may Special Summon one 'Ice Rider; from your hand. If you don't have a 'Ice Rider' in your hand when you summon this card, you may draw one card.

Ice Rider

Water | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1600/1300 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a 'Ice Dragon you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. The equipped monster gains 200 attack and defense points, and if the equipped monster inflicts damage to your opponent's Life Points you select any Phase, except for the Standby or End Phase and your opponent must skip that Phase during their next turn.

General of Excelion

Light | Level 3 | Warrior/Effect | 1000/1000 | You may increase the attack points of all other face up 'Excelion' monsters by 1000 until the End Phase. (If you use this effect this card may not attack this turn.)

Battle Strategist of Excelion

Light | Level 2 | Spellcaster/Effect | 800/800 | You may discard this card from your hand at the start of the Battle Phase, select one face up 'Excelion' monster you control, it may attack an additional time during this turn.

Dragonic Greed

Image: Felgrand Dragon clutching the Pot of Greed.

| Spell | Discard a monster from your hand with 'Dragon' in its name to the Graveyard and then draw twice.

Dragonic Revival

Image: Darkblaze Dragon bursting out of the ground in front of Dragon Seeker.

| Quick-Play Spell | Activate this card only during the turn in which a Dragon type monster was sent to the Graveyard. Special Summon a level five or higher Dragon type monster from your Graveyard

Excelion's Fury

Image: Divine Dragon – Excelion attacking a camp of Warrior monsters. (The ones seen on The A. Forces)

| Trap | Activate this card during the Standby Phase during the turn after the turn in which one or more 'Excelion' monster(s) was destroyed. Special Summon all the destroyed monsters and destroyed face up monsters on your opponent's side of the field equal to the number of monsters you Special Summoned this turn.

Warrior of Excelion

Light | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1600/1100 | When this card is summoned you may Special Summon one Divine Dragon – Excelion from your hand or Deck. (This is treated as a Normal Summon)

Dummy Marker

Image: None available.

| Trap | When this Set card is destroyed, draw 1 card. If this Set card was destroyed by the effect of a Spell Card controlled by your opponent, draw 2 cards instead.

(This card was first used by Jaden/Judai Yuki in Yu-gi-oh GX! Episode 130 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Excelion's Favour

Image: A duelist who looks exactly like Reiko opening a silver and blue treasure chest in a cave with Divine Dragon – Excelion's shadow seen against the far wall.

| Spell | If this card is discarded or destroyed if during this turn an 'Excelion' monster you control destroys a monster your opponent controls by battle you may draw one card for every two levels the destroyed monster(s) had. (The number is rounded down.)

Electro Dragon

Light | Level 6 | Dragon/Effect | 2500/1600 | When this card is Summoned you may Special Summon one 'Electro Rider' from your hand. If you don't have a 'Electro Rider' in your hand you may draw one card.

Fighting as One

Image: Flame Dragon and Rider both charging at Giga Gagagigo.

| Spell | Select a Dragon type monster equipped with a Warrior type monster. Increase the attack points of the selected Dragon monster by half the equipped Warrior monster's attack points until the End Phase.

Excelion Ultima

Light | Level 12 | Dragon/Effect | 4500/2700 | Divine Dragon – Excelion + Divine Dragon – Excelion + Dragon – Excelion. This card can only be Special Summoned by Fusion Summon. As long as Excelion Kingdom is face up on the field this monster gains the following effects. *By removing one 'Excelion' monster from your Graveyard you may negate and destroy any Trap cards you opponent activates. *By removing two 'Excelion' monsters from your Graveyard this card may attack twice in the same Battle Phase. *By removing three 'Excelion' monsters on your side of the field from play you may destroy every monster on your opponent's side of the field. (This monster may not attack the turn you activate this effect.)

Dark Dragon's Apprentice

Dark | Level 2 | Warrior/Effect | 400/400 | If you opponent attacks a Dragon type monster on your side of the field you can discard this card to reduce Battle Damage you receive from that battle to zero.

Anti Negation Field

Image: A blue electric aura surrounding Light and Darkness Dragon.

| Continuous Spell | As long as this card remains face up the effects of any card played may not be negated.

Adamantine Sword Revival

Image: An orange sword being handed to a pair of green skinned hands that are bursting out of the ground, the silhouette of a Dragon is in the background.

| Quick-Play Spell | Activate only when a Dragon-Type monster is Special Summoned from the Graveyard. Tribute that monster and Special Summon 1 "Diamond Head Dragon" from your Deck in Attack Position under the control of the controller of the Dragon-Type monster that was Special Summoned.

Diamond Head Dragon

Light | Level 8 | Dragon/Effect | ?/2800 | This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by the effect of "Adamantine Sword Revival". The original ATK of this card is equal to the ATK of the monster Tributed by the effect of "Adamantine Sword Revival" + 1000. When this card attacks with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of a Defense Position monster, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points.

(The above two cards were first used by Duke Devlin/Ryuji Otogi in episode 165 of the original Yu-gi-oh! Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Call of the Ultimate Rider

Image: Divine Rider flying onto a battle field with many Dragon and Rider monsters scattered around.

| Spell | Special Summon from your Deck or hand one 'Divine Rider', it may not attack this turn.

Divine Rider

Light | Level 6 | Warrior/Union | 2300/2100 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a 'Dragon' monster you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. The equipped monster gains 400 attack and defense points for every 'Rider' and 'Dragon' monster in your Graveyard. If the equipped monster would be destroyed you may destroy this card instead.

Offensive Defense

Image: Battle Footballer charging at Mechanicalchaser.

| Spell | Select one face up monster you control and add half of its current defense points to its attack points until the End Phase. If the monster's attack points exceed 3400 then it is destroyed during the End Phase.


	23. Ch23: Light and Dark

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twenty-Three: Dark and Light

(A/N: A certain card in this chapter is currently on the Semi-Limited list, and with good reason, but it's Unlimited in this chapter.)

While Vincent was squaring off against is rival and former best friend, Rob was heading to one of his favourite spots in the Satellite. It was a cliff over looking the ocean.

It was covered in green grass with a large tree sitting there, and according to his father he and some of the kids he used to look after planted the tree in memory of Rob's namesake.

He walked up to his favourite spot and slowed down. Standing on the edge of the cliff and obviously staring out to the churning sea was a girl

She seemed to be a year or two younger than Rob was. She was dressed in a green jacket with the kanji for sky on the back in blue. The sleeves didn't cover her whole arms, her shoulders and upper arms were exposed, she wore a pair of baggy light blue pants that seemed to be made of silk, on her back was a blue guitar with wing like protrusions attached to the body.

"Hello!" Rob called. The girl turned and then looked at her watch.

"Hello you're on time, just as I figured you would be," the girl said cryptically.

"Ok I'm….," he began.

"You're Robert 'Rob' Hogan, named after Robert Pearson who was your father's hero, but he perished in a fire started by a man named Bolger who was using the cursed card Blood Mephist, you may call me Lyn," she said much to Rob's shock.

"How….I mean, no I….what in the Hell how'd you know all that?" Rob asked with a huge question mark appearing above his head.

"It is hard to explain, needless to say I am privy to many secrets most do not know, I know of the lost eighth Earthbound Immortal whose power is wielded by Jack Atlas and the Accel Synchro monster once held by Yusei Fudo," Lyn said and Rob gasped.

"Ok I am officially freaked out!" Rob shouted.

"I've gotten that, most recoil in terror from my predictions, then again most are stupid enough to ask how they'll meet their end," Lyn said. "But fate isn't written in stone, it can be changed. Yusei Fudo should've died years ago, he should've been killed in his first duel with the evil Placido, but he won during that encounter, why even I cannot tell."

"That's a load of crap Reina's father was destined to defeat the cyborg freak!" Rob snapped.

"Do you believe in destiny Rob?" Lyn asked and Rob nodded with some uncertainty. "Yet your father Crow Hogan, started with nothing, in fact he's never even been to a proper school, but he is now one of the richest men in Japan."

Rob was about to speak but stopped. "I….don't know what to say," he murmured.

"Take this to heart for it is the honest truth, nothing is set in stone, Seto Kaiba was once headed for defeat at the hands of his future wife but changed his own fate but giving up the power of Obelisk the Tormenter for his trusted Blue-Eyes White Dragon," Lyn said softly. "Now you should leave, head to the Satellite Square and you will face off against a powerful opponent in an age old clash you may need these cards to win," she said pulling three cards out of the pouch she wore on her side.

Rob took them and cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" he asked and then gasped. "What are you doing!"

Lyn was walking towards the edge of the cliff. She spun around and smirked. "We'll meet again Robert Hogan if you survive the challenges you have yet to face, and when you fact your greatest rival in a mighty clash remember it isn't over until the last card is drawn!" with that Lyn jumped back and plunged downward.

Rob sprinted forward and looked over the edge, but Lyn was nowhere to be seen. "Why…?" he asked before turning and walking away.

If Rob had stopped and looked up he'd have truly been freaked out. Because sitting in the branches of the tree was none other than Lyn her guitar in hand. "A future comrade of mine is about to face off against Rob, who will win?" she muttered.

Several minutes later

Rob walked towards the square with a scowl on his face. "Why'd she jump and what happened to her?" he asked. He'd have told Security about but they'

There was a thunderous bang and someone familiar flew past Rob before crashing into the ground. "Ami is that you?" Rob asked.

The Naturia using duelist groaned and sat up. "What hit me, oh ya," she muttered.

"Are you ok Ami?" Rob asked.

"I've been better but I'll live, but I'm out of the tournament, too bad I was doing well," she sighed.

Rob decided not to probe and noticed that from where Ami had been blasted a girl talking to an older man, he guessed it was the girl's father.

The girl had platinum blonde hair that hung loose down to the nape of her neck and gold coloured eyes. She wore a loose fitting white t-shirt and white jeans, around her neck was a gold necklace with a large chunk of amber attached.

"That was pathetic Altair, she may have claimed to be good but I destroyed her," the girl sighed.

"Worry not Layla, this only proves that you will likely be one of the people going to the finals, and if you can confront Archer….," the man she was talking to was about six feet tall, maybe taller he seemed to be slouching somewhat, he had greasy gray hair but he didn't look that old, he wore a black cloak that hid the rest of his body from sight, but if his hands were any indication he was thin if not gaunt, his skin was unnaturally pale seemingly gray. He had stopped talking and started to cough. "If you can confront him we can get the three Wicked Gods."

"Altair you should rest you're getting worse and worse every day," Layla said sadly.

Rob walked over Layla noticed him. "Who are you," she hissed.

"I'm Robert Hogan and I heard what you just said," Rob said quietly. "Why do you want the Wicked Gods, they need to be destroyed!"

"They can be but Altair needs them to get better," Layla snapped. "Now mind your business punk."

"Did you just call me a punk?" Rob asked.

"I'm guessing that was a rhetorical question?" Layla scoffed. "Why don't you run along?"

"No I want to challenge you to a duel!" Rob shouted.

"Heh, fine just let me check something," Layla sneered pulling what looked like a PDA out of her pocket. "Here we go Robert Hogan age seventeen you use a Blackwing strategy, quite well in fact, your rank twelfth in New Domino Duel Academy."

"So what of it," Rob muttered.

"Nothing I just prefer to prepare against an opponent," Layla smirked opening her Deck case she quickly pulled out a few cards and swapped them with ones from her Deck. "I'm all ready, to destroy you," she laughed.

"Wait Rob she's dangerous, she beat me in an OTK!" Ami cried.

"What!" Rob shouted. _"Wait those cards Lyn gave me,"_ he pulled out the three cards and took three out of his Deck and put the new cards in.

"Ok as they used to say, let's duel!" Layla shouted activating her Duel Disk.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

**(Rob: 8000) - (Layla: 8000)**

"You may have a really bad attitude, but I'm a gentleman so I'll let you go first," Rob said.

"That will be the only mistake you get," Layla sneered. "I'll set a monster face down and then a card face down and end my turn."

Rob blinked. "That wasn't much of an opening move," he smirked. "I summon the mighty Blackwing – Bora the Spear!" in a burst of feathers the spear wielding Winged-Beast flew onto the field. (ATK 1700/DEF 800)

"Bora attack her face down with Death Spiral!" Bora took to the air and dove down impaling a man with golden hair and six feathered wings on his back.

**(Rob: 8000) - (Layla: 7100)**

"Why thank you, dimwit that was my Shining Angel and when he's destroyed I can call forth a Light Attribute monster with 1500 or less attack points from my Deck in attack mode, and I'll call out…!" Layla began only be interrupted by Rob.

"Let me guess you're going to call out Batteryman AA and your face down card is Inferno Reckless Summon?" he asked sarcastically.

"Actually no, and that is specifically why I called you stupid, because you are," Layla snickered. "I call out the ultimate anti Dark card Consecrated Light!" in a burst of bright light appeared a pink sphere with a peaceful look on its face and a glowing halo around it. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Oh shit!" Rob swore. "Not that thing!" Rob was right to swear, the card before him was hated by Dark duelists around the globe.

"I take it you know my monster's effect, you're a pathetic Dark duelist so I'm not surprised," Layla sneered. "Yes as long as this little guy remains face up you and I may not Normal or Special Summon any Dark monsters, but I don't have any, nor can any Dark monsters attack or destroy this little guy."

Rob gritted his teeth. "Shit, shit, shit!" he swore. "I'll end my turn with a face down card."

Layla drew and smirked. "Well I do believe this duel is officially over!" she laughed. "I activate Power Bond and chain Cybernetic Extension!"

"Ok I've heard of Power Bond but never that other card," Rob said. "What does it do?"

"It's about to make you piss yourself, among other things," Layla sneered. "It allows me to send Fusion Material monsters listed in the Special Summoning of a Machine Type Fusion monster. Of course I need to combine it with an actually fusing card, like my Power Bond! Now I'll send my three Cyber Dragon's to the Graveyard to call out my mightiest beast the **CYBER END DRAGON**!" a huge vortex crackling with pure power appeared behind Layla. Three metallic serpents were pulled inside and a powerful roar emanated from the vortex.

Something slowly crawled out of the vortex. It was enormous and made of shining stainless steel with three dragon like heads and a pair of huge wings on its back. (ATK 4000-8000/DEF 2800)

"Thanks to my Power Bond my mighty Cyber End Dragon has its attack points doubled, but during my End Phase I'll take the original Cyber End Dragon's attack points in damage, and since he can't attack this turn because of my Cybernetic Extension I'll just summon Cyber Kirin and switch my Consecrated Light to defense mode," a small robotic creature appeared, it looked like a metallic giraffe. (ATK 300/DEF 800)

"Now I'll activate my Kirin's special ability and release him to reduce all effect damage to me down to zero this turn, then to finish up I'll activate Cybernetic Resupply!" the Spell card materialized and Layla drew four times. "In case it escaped you this card allows me draw one card for every Cyber monster than when to the Graveyard this turn. I'll end my turn with another face down card"

"I figured," Rob muttered pulling the top card off his Deck. He stared up at the huge monster and groaned inwardly. _"That thing would be much cooler if it wasn't about to blast me into the next century!"_

"I'll set a card and a monster face down and end my turn," he growled.

"Pathetic," Layla scoffed. "I call out the ever useful Cyber Dragon Zwei!" in a burst of sparks appeared what seemed to be a thinner more streamlined version of Cyber Dragon. (ATK 1500/DEF 1000) "Now I can reveal a Spell card in my hand to treat him as Cyber Dragon until the End Phase, so this is Evolution Burst!" she cried spinning a card in her hand around revealing a Spell card with the picture of Cyber Dragon firing a blast of blue energy.

"Evolution Burst isn't that Cyber Dragon's attack name?" Rob asked with a large question mark appearing above his head.

"Yes but as you should know when they make an attack name into a Spell card the effects are deadly," Layla smirked. "I can now use this card while I control a Cyber Dragon to blast any one of your cards off the field like your face down monster, of course in exchange all Cyber Dragon's may not attack this turn!" Cyber Dragon Zwei opened its maw and fired a blast of energy vaporizing the face down monster.

"Now I'll activate Forbidden Chalice and use it on my Cyber Dragon Zwei, which negates its effect until the End Phase but increase its attack points by 400, so it's no longer treated as being Cyber Dragon!" a blue aura surrounded the streamlined Machine. (ATK 1500-1900/DEF 1000)

"Zwei wipe out his pathetic Winged-Beast with Evolution Perfection Burst!" Cyber Dragon Zwei hissed and unleashed a ball of blue light from its jaws blowing Bora to atoms.

**(Rob: 7800) - (Layla: 7100)**

"Cyber End Dragon crush this loser with Eternal Evolution Burst!" the three heads of the mechanical behemoth began to charge energy in their jowls and then fired a storm of blue energy that flew at Rob. "So do you have any last words for this duel!" Layla laughed.

"Oh of course I do," Rob grinned. "Just two, you lose! Reveal face down card Attack Guidance Armor!" silver demonic looking armor appeared above Consecrated Light. "This becomes an Equip card when activated and forces you to attack the equipped monster!"

Layla could only look on in horror as her Cyber End Dragon's attack changed directions and flew at the glowing ball of light. She snarled and threw a card into her Graveyard just as the attack struck.

"Looks like I won that one, although in a strange way," Rob grinned.

"Don't think you've beaten me yet!" Layla snarled as the smoke began to clear. "I discarded my Cyber Damage Buffer to reduce the battle damage from a battle involving a Cyber monster to zero for this turn."

"Ok well is that all you're going to do this turn?" Rob questioned.

Layla looked at the remaining cards in her hand. "Yes I'll end my turn." (ATK 1900-1500/DEF 1000)

Rob drew and grimaced and then looked up at the huge monster before him._ "How am I going to bring that thing down?"_ he asked himself.

He drew and grinned. "Perfect," he chuckled. "I activate Monster Reborn to revive the face down monster you destroyed in defense mode, so say hello to Mistral the Silver Shield!" in a burst of black feathers from the ankh appeared the shield faced Winged-Beast. (ATK 100/DEF 1800)

"Now thanks to his presence on the field I can call out Blackwing – Elphin the Raven!" in another burst of feathers appeared the Winged-Beast Rob had been using against Zeke in Muto Memorial Park some weeks ago. (ATK 2200/DEF 1200)

"Now thanks to his effect I can force one to change battle modes, like your Cyber End Dragon!" Elphin screeched and flapped his wings causing a buffering wind to force Cyber End Dragon to curl up in defense mode.

"So he's still stronger than either of your monsters combined!" Layla snarled.

"Yep but not if I combined Elphin with another member of the team, Kalut the Moon Shadow and since I'm discarding him when Elphin is about to strike Elphin will gain 1400 attack points!" Elphin flew forward his claws outstretched and the Winged-Beast with a similar appearance to Breeze the Zephyr appeared and phased into Elphin. (ATK 2200-3600/DEF 1200) Elphin dug his claws into the metal skin of the massive Machine and he began to slash wires and other circuitry causing Cyber End Dragon to howl in pain and explode into pixels.

"Now I'll end my turn," Rob said. (ATK 3600-2200/DEF 1200)

"Don't think you can beat me, I'm the best there is in this tournament, and I'm headed straight for the top!" Layla declared. "But for now I'll set a monster on the defensive and move my Cyber Dragon Zwei to defense mode," the streamlined Machine curled up on itself.

Rob drew and grinned. "I'm going summon Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame!" in a burst of fire appeared the blue plumed bird, who let loose a loud cry. (ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"Now I'm going to tune my level two, Mistral the Silver Shield and my level four Shura the Blue Flame…," Rob began.

"_The fierce dark winds buffer the enemy with your unrelenting force! Synchro Summon and soar Blackwing Armed Wing!"_

Shura and Mistral flew into the air and Mistral became two green rings that surrounded Shura. The second Winged-Beast was reduced to framework and from the burst of darkness appeared the gun wielding Synchro Monster. (ATK 2300/DEF 1000)

"Armed Wing attack her Cyber Dragon Zwei with Black Tornado!" Armed Wing launched himself into the arm and took aim at the serpentine Machine.

"I activate Shift and change the target of your attack to my face down monster!" Armed Wing fired on the face down monster revealing a small mechanical snake with a yellow point on the end of its tail that was quickly reduced to scrap.

"Ok what was that thing, and why didn't you take any damage?" Rob inquired.

"Simple really," Layla smirked. "That was my Cyber Larva and when it's targeted by an attack I receive no damage and since it was destroyed by battle I get another one!" in a flash of light another mechanical snake appeared. (ATK 400/DEF 600)

"Ok Elphin destroy her Cyber Dragon Zwei!" Elphin dove down on the monster slashing it with his claw and causing it to spark and explode.

"No matter is that all you're going to do this turn?" Layla asked impatiently.

Rob looked at his hand and nodded.

"Good, I'm going to summon my third and final Cyber Larva!" in another burst of light appeared another robotic worm appeared.

"Now I'm going to activate Cyber Upgrade!" both Cyber Larva began to glow and their bodies started to extend.

"I hate to ask this, but what's happening now?" Rob sighed.

"This card can only be activated while I have either two or more Cyber Larva or Proto-Cyber Dragons on the field and two or more Cyber Dragon's in the Graveyard," Layla started to explain. "Now I simply send them to the Graveyard them to bring back their adult forms!" both Cyber Larva hissed and were consumed by the light. When the light faded two Cyber Dragon's had taken their place. (ATK 2100/DEF 1600)

"Now I'll activate good old Polymerization and fuse my two Cyber Dragon's to form a Machine that is truly better than the sum of its parts!" the two mechanical serpents were pulled into the fusion vortex. It began to churn and then a two headed version of Cyber Dragon crawled out, both heads hissed at Rob. (ATK 2800/DEF 2100)

"Now I'll activate another Cyber Resupply and that means I get to draw four cards!" Layla quickly pulled four cards off the top of her Deck. "Now I'll activate Fusion Recycle!" strangely a recycling bid that seemed to be full of Polymerization and other fusion cards appeared right in front of the blonde girl.

"I'll get to what this does later, for now Cyber Twin Dragon vaporize both his monsters with your Evolution Twin Burst!" both heads roared and unleashed blast of blue energy striking Rob's monsters.

**(Rob: 6700) - (Layla: 7100)**

"Now I'll activate De-Fusion and send my Twin Dragon back to my Extra Deck and call back the monsters used to make it!" Cyber Twin Dragon split apart and two Cyber Dragon's appeared.

"Sic him boys!" both Dragons roared and fired two blast of energy at Rob who was sent flying back when the two attacks connected.

**(Rob: 2500) - (Layla: 7100)**

"I think I've beaten on you enough, plus I'm not one to strike someone when they're down," Layla laughed as she slid a card into her Duel Disk. "Turn end."

Rob groaned and got back up. "Man that's going to sting in the morning, and unlike Zeke I don't sleep into until noon."

Rob drew and winced in pain. "I activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and looked over at Layla with worry on her face. Rob snapped three cards off the top of his Deck and handed her two from his hand.

"Now I'm going to activate Premature Burial and revive a monster I just discarded, one that was given to my by someone!" the ground exploded and a woman jumped out, she had blonde hair that hung down to her waist, she wore silver armor and on her breastplate, her shield and acting as the guard of her sword was a crescent moon shape. (ATK 2100/DEF 1400) "Meet Penumbral Soldier Lady!"

**(Rob: 1700) - (Layla: 7100)**

"What in the….!" Layla shouted. "Since when is she included in a Blackwing Deck?"

"Since the same person who gave her to me, told me I'd be dueling a Light duelist, so I added her to my Deck," Rob grinned. "Because if she battles a Light monster she gains 1000 attack points, during the damage step. But before I go on the offensive I'll call out Gale the Whirlwind!" in a cyclone of black feathers appeared the green headed Winged-Beast. (ATK 1300/DEF 400)

"Now I'll activate his effect and reduce the attack and defense points of one of your Cyber Dragon's by half!" Gale flapped his wings and fired several blades of wind that sliced off chunks of the one Mechanical serpent's armor. (ATK 2100-1050/DEF 1600-800)

"Soldier Lady attack her stronger Cyber Dragon with Eclipse Sword!" Penumbral Soldier Lady charged forward her sword glowing black. (ATK 2100-3100/DEF 1400) She jumped into the air and split the Machine's head in two. (ATK 3100-2100/DEF 1400)

**(Rob: 1700) - (Layla: 6100)**

"Gale attack the weaker one with Dark Wind Blades!" Gale flapped his wings again slicing the Machine to pieces this time.

**(Rob: 1700) - (Layla: 5850)**

"Now I'll end my turn," Rob smirked.

Layla snarled and drew. "I activate Soul Exchange and I'll select your Gale and now I can use him for a release this turn as if he was my own monster. So say goodbye then hello for Cyber Salamander!" Gale vanished and was replaced with a four legged creature that resembled a lizard. (ATK 2300/DEF 1700)

"Now I'll activate my new monster's effect and discard a Machine type monster and then I can blow your Soldier Lady off the field!" Layla dropped a card into her Graveyard and the newest monster opened its mouth and fired a blast of lightning at the Warrior.

"Hold on reveal face down card Dark Illusion, since you're trying to target a Dark monster with a monster effect that card is negated and destroyed!" the silver cloaked phantom appeared was a about to reflect the blast.

"Sorry but I activate Counter, Counter and since you so kindly activated a Counter Trap card it is instead destroyed and negated!" the Counter Trap seal appeared on the phantom's chest and it cried out and exploded. Penumbral Soldier Lady howled in pain a moment later as the bolt struck her.

"Now I'll end my turn," Layla snickered.

Rob drew and scowled. "I'll set a monster face down and card face down and end my turn."

"Not doing so well eh?" Layla asked mockingly. "Well take comfort in one fact you're lasting much longer than most do against this Deck."

"I activate Reverse Fusion, with this card I can select a Fusion monster in my Extra Deck and if the Fusion Material monsters exist in my Graveyard for that monster I can return them to my Deck and during my next Standby Phase the selected Fusion monster is Special Summoned," Layla explained. The three Cyber Dragon's in her Graveyard fell out and she slid them back into her Deck.

"But for now I'll be getting rid of that face down monster, Salamander attack it with Evolution Flame!" the mechanical lizard hissed and breathed a blast of blue flames from its jaws. They hit a Winged-Beast wearing a black coat and wooden sandals.

"What was that?" Layla asked.

"That was Vayu the Emblem of Honor he's one of the rarest Blackwings in the world," Rob grinned. "His effect might come into play later."

"Whatever, you won't be getting a chance to use his effect during this duel," Layla scoffed.

"Turn end," she added.

Rob looked at his hand and nodded to himself. He was starting to form a plan but it would have to wait until next turn. "I'll set a monster on the defensive and then a card face down and then I'll end my turn."

In a burst of light Cyber End Dragon appeared again and roared with fury. "Well my friend is back and he certainly has fury!" Layla laughed.

"That wasn't funny at all," Rob sighed.

"It doesn't matter, Salamander barbeque his Winged-Beast!" Cyber Salamander breathed another tongue of flames burning Rob's face down monster to ashes.

"Cyber Dragon attack him directly and end this with your Eternal Evolution Burst!" the tri-headed mechanical monster roared and began to charge energy in its jaws.

"I'll activate one of my face down cards, Shadow Spell!" black chains burst out of the ground and constricted around Cyber End Dragon. (ATK 4000-3300/DEF 2800) "Now your mega monster can't attack or change its battle mode and it loses 700 attack points."

"Damn," Layla hissed. "Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"I'll remove my level one Vayu the Emblem of Honor and my level six Elphin the Raven from my Graveyard….," Rob began.

"Wait you can't Synchro Summon from the Graveyard!" Layla protested.

"_Dark gales lift the wings that will soar forth to unreachable heights! Synchro Summon and take flight, Blackwing Armor Master!"_

The spirits of Vayu and Elphin appeared. Vayu nodded and became a single Synchro gate with a strange red symbol in the middle. Elphin screeched and flew into the ring becoming transparent. From the darkness came the metal winged bird-man. (ATK 2500/DEF 1500)

"Actually that's Vayu's effect, he can't actually be used for a Synchro Summon while he's on the field," Rob said. "But in the Graveyard things change and he and a non-Tuner Blackwing can be removed to Special Summon a Blackwing Synchro monster, but the monster I summon has its effect negated."

"So that oversized turkey is practically useless," Layla sneered.

"Not when combined with certain cards," Rob smirked. "But first I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the Pot of Greed appeared and both duelists drew three new cards. "Now I'll activate the Spell card Dispelling Lingering Fog!"

Layla blinked in confusion. "Ok I'm lost what in the Hell does that card do?"

"Simple really it negates all lingering and Continuous effects present on the field," a veil of fog appeared around Armor monster only to be blow away, at the same time the chains of Shadow Spell began to rust and then they shattered. (ATK 3300-4000/DEF 2800)

"Huh, I don't get it?" Layla said. "I know what a Continuous effect is but what's a lingering effect?"

"It's kind of hard to understand, but a lingering effect is one that remains on the field after the card has left the field, like Final Countdown or Zeke's Golden Sarcophagus," Rob explained. "So since Vayu is no longer here his effect is lingering, but thanks to my Spell Shadow Spell's effect has been negated as well, but so is your Continuous Spell."

"Armor Master avenge your fallen brothers and sister, by destroying her Salamander with your Black Hurricane!" Armor Master struck the Machine with a powerful uppercut tearing its head clean off its shoulders.

**(Rob: 1700) - (Layla: 5650)**

"Now I'll activate my face down card Relentless Attacks!" Armor Master roared and took to the air again. "Since a monster I control destroyed one of yours, so now my Armor Master can attack again!" Armor Master shot forward and punched Cyber End Dragon's central head, embedding a shard of black metal in its forehead.

"Great now my Cyber End Dragon has a Wedge Counter in it," Layla sighed. _"Luckily I have a card in my hand that'll end this duel in one move."_

"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Rob said.

Layla drew then threw a card into her Duel Disk. "I activate Fusion Sage and thanks to his effect I can add a Polymerization to my hand from my Deck," a withered old man appeared and handed Layla a single card before disappearing.

"Now I'll activate Polymerization and another Cybernetic Extension, and once again I'll send my three Cyber Dragon's to the Graveyard to call out Cyber End Dragon!" from the fusion vortex appeared a third three headed giant Machine monster.

"Wait you have _three,_ Cyber End Dragons!" Rob cried. 

"Yes I do," Layla snapped. "Care to show me the rule that says otherwise!"

"Well that's true I guess," Rob muttered. "But it doesn't matter I receive no damage from a battle involving Armor Master."

"I know that and that's why I'm going to summon my ultimate monster!" Layla's Graveyard began to glow and so did her two Cyber End Dragons. "I remove every Light Machine type from my Graveyard and that I control to call out **Cyber Eltanin**!"

The two giant Machine's dissolved into motes of light and then from the sky descended a huge monster. Its body looked like the head of a Cyber Dragon, from the top of the body was a serpentine neck with a diamond shaped head attached to it. Floating around the huge monster was thirteen smaller heads. (ATK ?/DEF ?)

"Great unknown attack and defense points, I'm not going to like this," Rob groaned.

"No you won't because for every monster I removed my Eltanin gains 500 attack and defense points, and in case you lost count I had thirteen!" the thirteen heads and the body all roared in unison. (ATK 0-6500/DEF 0-6500)

"Now his other effect activates and all face up monsters other than himself are sent to the Graveyard!" the heads began to circle around Armor Master.

"I'm not letting that happen!" Rob declared. "Reveal face down card, Interdimensional Matter Transporter, so Armor Master is removed until the end of this turn!" the space age machine appeared and the armored Winged-Beast was sucked into a portal just in time to avoid being vaporized.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Layla scoffed. "Cyber Eltanin attack him directly with Evolution Omni-Directional Assault!" the heads all opened their mouths revealing small cannons inside, the opened fire blasting Rob from every angle.

"Well looks like this duel finally came to an end," she chuckled. "Too bad he was one of my toughest opponent's yet."

"Don't count me out yet!" shouted a familiar orange haired duelist.

Layla turned and around and snarled. "How can you still be in this, I attacked you with over three times the Life Points you had!"

"Simple really," Rob grinned as the dust settled. "I knew you'd try to get rid of Armor Master by card effect so I set a special card face down, Reina gave it to me. Its card Parting Gift and it can only be activated when a monster is removed from the field by card effects, and it automatically ends the current phase."

Layla gritted her teeth. "Fine I'll activate one of my face down cards, Dimension Dumping, so now we can both return any monsters that are removed from play to our Graveyards, cost is none of them can be Special Summoned the turn this card is activated but after that I've got nothing left I can do," both duelists took all the cards in their pockets and dropped them into the Graveyard.

From a portal appeared Armor Master looking unharmed.

Rob drew and grinned. "I activate another card I was given, it's called Leeching the Light!" Armor Master held out his hands and a small glowing sphere appeared between his palms. "This is a perfect car to use against your Deck, because I select a face up Light monster and all my monsters gain attack points equal to that monster's attack points until the End Phase," energy began to seep out of Cyber Eltanin and into the sphere Armor Master held, after a minute the sphere dissolved into grains of light that were absorbed by Armor Master. (ATK 2500-900-/DEF 1500)

"Armor Master attack that eye sore with Black Hurricane!" Armor Master moved with blistering speed and punched the main head of Cyber Eltanin producing a thunderous crack. The colossal Machine groaned and then exploded raining debris down upon both duelists.

**(Rob: 1700) - (Layla: 3150)**

"Now I'm going to end my turn with a face down card," Rob said. (ATK 9000-2500/DEF 1500)

Layla snarled and drew. "I activate my Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and Layla quickly handed her two cards. "Now I'll activate Call of the Haunted to revive my Proto-Cyber Dragon!" the ground appeared a mechanical serpent whose body was gunmetal grey with wires hanging off it. (ATK 1100/DEF 600)

"Now I'll chain Inferno Reckless Summon which will allow me to revive the three Cyber Dragon's and the Cyber Dragon Zwei who is treated as Cyber Dragon in my Graveyard, and you Special Summon any other copies of Armor Master in your Deck!" she laughed.

"I can't," Rob growled.

"Oh well too bad then but I take it you remember these three, their back in defense mode!" in three burst of electricity the three original Cyber Dragon's as well as Cyber Dragon Zwei appeared and snarled at Rob.

"Ugh, I'm really getting sick of those monsters," Rob hissed.

"Too bad, and I've got even worse news," Layla smirked. "I activate a second copy of Evolution Burst, so bye-bye to Armor Master!" one of the Cyber Dragons fired a blast of energy at Armor Master, atomizing the hapless Winged-Beast.

"Now I'll activate a second Polymerization and fuse two of my Cyber Dragon's Cyber Dragon, Zwei and Proto-Cyber Dragon to summon a monster I've never summoned before!" she laughed and sweat started pour down Rob's face as the three monsters were sucked into the fusion vortex.

A loud roar echoed out from it and something slowly slithered out. Rob's face became very pale as he looked up at the monster. It was at least ten stories tall with a serpentine body made of polished steel, it had a mass of hissing heads that resembled Cyber Dragon's only with a third horn on the back of them. (ATK 2000/DEF 2000)

"Ok for something that terrifying I'd think I would have more attack points…..unless," Rob gasped.

"Meet Cyber Hydra he has a nasty special effect, especially if he's called out later in the game," Layla sneered. "He gains attack points equal to the number of Cyber monsters in my Graveyard times 300, and with the Proto-Cyber Dragon and Cyber Ogre I sent to the Graveyard with Graceful Charity and the Cyber Eltanin you so kindly destroyed I have sixteen monster," each head roared and their eyes glowed like the sun. (ATK 2000-6800/DEF 2000)

"And I'm not done I summon Heavy Mech Support Platform!" the small jet like Machine flew onto the field and quickly linked up with massive Machine. (ATK 6800-7300/DEF 2000)

"Now I'm going for extreme overkill!" Layla snarled. "This is for daring to destroy my Cyber Eltanin, go Limiter Removal!" Rob's eyes about popped out of his head as Cyber Hydra roared and doubled in size. (ATK 7300-14600/DEF 2000)

"Its attack points are off the charts!" Ami cried. "Rob you have to surrender you could actually be seriously hurt from this attack!"

"Nah, don't worry Ami I'll be just fine," Rob grinned. "Come you rust bucket hit me with your best shot!"

"I would've given you a chance to surrender but too bad!" Layla roared. "Cyber Hydra attack him directly and end this duel once and for all with Evolution Destruction Burst!" every single one of the monster's heads roared and fired a beam of pure energy at Rob who only grinned.

Rob took a card from his hand and threw it onto his Duel Disk and just as the attack was about to hit him it stopped in mid air. In a burst of black feathers appeared a strange looking Winged-Beast with six wings and a large mane of red hair on the back of its head. (ATK 0/DEF 1600)

"What in the Hell is that!" Layla shouted.

"Oh this little guy he's just Ghibli the Searing Wind, I can Special Summon him when you declare a direct attack," Rob grinned and Layla looked stunned.

"Destroy it," she said weakly and the blast continued forward eradicating Ghibli. _"I don't know why but all the anger and rage I felt a moment ago just evaporated."_

"Since you have no cards in your hand I'm going to take it that it's my turn?" Rob asked and Layla nodded. (ATK 14600-6800/DEF 2000)

Rob drew and looked at the card. "Hey I'm going to get to summon a guy I haven't unleashed in a long time, I summon the ever faithful Blizzard the Far North!" the seagull like bird appear and sat on Rob's shoulder (ATK 1300/DEF 0) and pecked at his Graveyard retrieving the Bora the Spear that was there.

"Thanks to his effect I can bring back Bora the Spear in defense mode!" Bora burst out of the ground and covered himself with his arms.

"Now I'm going to activate Double Summon and I'm doubtful I need to explain what this card does?" Rob inquired and Layla shook her head. "Good so meet Fane the Steel Chain!" in another burst of black feathers appeared a bird-man wearing a mask over his and a sleeveless black gi. (ATK 500/DEF 800)

"Now I'm going to tune my level two, Blizzard the Far North, my level four, Bora the Spear and my level two, Fane the Steel Chain to Synchro Summon my ultimate Blackwing monster!" Rob declared.

"_These mighty gales will gust fiercely to churn the skies! Steel your will and slash the heavens apart with your blade! Synchro Summon take to the skies, Blackwing – Silverwind the Ascendant!"_

Blizzard flew into the air and became two green rings. They covered Fane and Bora who became see-through. Instead of a burst of darkness or even light a silver tornado was produced. It was split in half revealing with a Winged-Beast in a black and orange bodysuit, with long black hair and holding a large katana. (ATK 2800/DEF 2000)

"Now I'll activate Silverwind's effect, which allows me to destroy up to two face up monsters with less defense than his attack, but I have to skip my Battle Phase this turn, but destroy her Cyber Hydra with Perfect Storm!" Silverwind flew forward and drove his sword into Cyber Hydra's chest causing it to scream and exploded in a rain of fiery debris.

Layla looked at the remains of her monster and scowled. "Well I'm just going to end my turn," Rob said.

Layla drew and looked at the card. "I surrender, there's nothing I can do to win," she sighed placing her hand over her Deck.

"Why'd you do that? That was no fun!" Rob cried. He snatched the card from Layla and scowled, it was another copy of Cyber Resupply.

Layla grabbed it from him and took the cards out of her Graveyard and resembled her Deck. She then grabbed the cards and flung them into the air causing them to scatter in the wind.

"Hey what the Hell did you do that for?" Rob demanded angrily.

"That wasn't my true Deck, and I can easily replace those cards," Layla said coldly. "Those cards failed me so I had no more use for them."

Rob and Ami gathered up the cards they could and Rob snarled. "Duelists who treat their cards this badly really piss me off!"

"Me too," Ami growled. "But at least we can find these cards a proper home."

**Reina: Dang Rob really pulled that one out of his butt.**

**Vincent: He really doesn't know when to quit.**

**Zeke: That's true but for him it's a good thing.**

**Melissa: Well looks like Zeke's dueling next.**

**Josh: Don't miss Awakening Darkness.**

**Zeke: Ugh those things are ugly.**

**Original Cards**

Cybernetic Extension

Image: Elemental Hero Heat and Lady Heat flying out of a Deck and into a Polymerization card.

| Quick-Play Spell | You may chain this to the activation of card used to Fusion Summon a Machine type Fusion monster from your Extra Deck. You may send the Fusion Material monsters from your Deck to the Graveyard listed on a Machine type Fusion monster in your Extra Deck to Special Summon the Fusion monster with the same Fusion Material monsters listed on the card. (The monster is treated as being Fusion Summoned by the effect of the other card. The summoned monster may not attack the turn it was summoned.)

Cybernetic Resupply

Image: Someone selling Cyber Commander a large amount of ammunition.

| Spell | For every 'Cyber' monster that was sent to the Graveyard this turn you may draw one card.

Attack Guidance Armor

Image: A man wearing demonic looking silver armor covering his chest.

| Trap | When activated, treat this card as an Equip Card and equip it to 1 face-up monster on the field. The equipped monster is the only target enemy monsters can attack.

(This card was first used by Seto Kaiba in episode 123 of the original Yu-gi-oh! All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Cyber Damage Buffer

Light | Level 2 | Machine/Effect | 500/500 | Discard this card from your hand to the Graveyard to reduce the damage from a battle involving any 'Cyber' monsters to zero until the End Phase of this turn. This effect can only be activated during the Battle Phase.

Cyber Upgrade

Image: Cyber Larva with a silhouette of Cyber Dragon over top of it.

| Spell | Activate this while you control at least two 'Cyber Larva' or 'Proto-Cyber Dragon' or a combination of the two and have two or more 'Cyber Dragons' in your Graveyard. Send the monsters on the field to the Graveyard and Special Summon 'Cyber Dragons' equal to the number of monsters that were sent to the Graveyard.

Fusion Recycle

Image: A recycling box full of Polymerization and other fusion cards.

| Continuous Spell | During your Standby Phase you may pay 500 Life Points to add a 'Polymerization' card or a card with 'Fusion' in its name from your Graveyard to your hand.

Cyber Salamander

Light | Level 6 | Machine/Effect | 2300/1700 | Once per turn you may discard a Machine type monster from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy one face up monster your opponent controls. This card may not attack the turn you activated this effect.

Reverse Fusion

Image: A Polymerization card with a clock going in reverse above it.

| Spell | Select a Fusion monster in your Extra Deck and return the Fusion Material monsters listed on the selected card from your Graveyard to your Deck. During your next Standby Phase Special Summon the selected Fusion monster. (This is treated as a Fusion Summon.)

Dispelling Lingering Fog

Image: D.D. Crow blowing away the flames from Final Countdown.

| Spell | Negate all Continuous and lingering effects currently present on the field.

Relentless Attack

Image: A warrior wielding two swords slicing two creatures in half.

| Trap | Activate only when a monster you control destroys an opponent's monster by battle. Your monster can attack again during this Battle Phase, and your opponent cannot activate any Spell or Trap Cards in response to this second attack.

(This card was first used by Joey Wheeler/Katsuya Jonouchi in Yu-gi-oh! R chapter 7 creative credit goes to the writers of that chapter.)

Parting Gift

Image: A ghostly Stardust Dragon giving a duelist who looks like Yusei a gift wrapped box.

| Quick-Play Spell | Activate this card only when a monster is removed from the field by card effect. End the current Phase immediately.

Dimensional Dumping

Image: A vortex above a garbage dump spewing out cards.

| Trap | Both players may return any cards that are removed from play to their Graveyard. No monsters returned by this effect can be Special Summoned during the turn this card was activated.

Cyber Hydra

Light | Level 10 | Machine/Fusion/Effect | 2000/2000 | Cyber Dragon + three other 'Cyber' monsters. This monster cannot be Special Summon except by Fusion Summon. This card gains attack points equal to the number of 'Cyber' monsters in your Graveyard times 300.


	24. Ch24: Awakening Darkness

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twenty-Four: Awakening Darkness

It was day three of the tournament and Reina and Zeke were just leaving a restaurant. "So what should we do?" Reina asked.

"We could go crush some opponents and knock more people out of the tournament," Zeke grinned and a drop of sweat rolled down the back of Reina's head.

"That was an…..unusual way of saying we should challenge people to knock them out of the tournament," Reina said.

"I like the way my how I said it better," Zeke grinned.

"Zeke have you ever met anyone named Yuji Sekuro?" Reina asked and Zeke stopped dead in his tracks, Reina continued for a few steps. "I'll take that as a yes, so why does that name sound familiar?"

"Because while Kazuki is the top ranked duelist in our school, Yuji is ranked dead last, he's lost way more duels than he's won, he attributes this to not having found the Deck for him," Zeke explained.

"Yes now I remember, I saw him duel once with a Dark Counterparts Deck, he got defeated, but it was a close duel," Reina said.

"It's always like that he and he never seems to be down about it," Zeke said. "If he can't find a Deck that works for him, then he'll never be much of a duelist."

"He'll find it someday," Reina said.

About fifteen minutes later the couple was sitting in the shade of a tree in Muto Memorial Park and Zeke seemed to be lost in thought. He looked over at Reina who was looking at her Black Rose Dragon and Stardust Dragon, and then she muttered something under her breath and slid them back into her Extra Deck.

"So how's the tournament been treating you so far?" Zeke asked.

"So far I'm still in it, and I plan to stay in it until I win the final," Reina grinned.

"Too bad then," Zeke sighed. "Because I'm the one who'll take home the crown."

"Not if I have anything to say about it, or if you have to face Josh or Vincent," Reina said. Vincent had told the others of the events of the previous day after they'd all met up.

"I'm surprised Vincent had what it took to defeat the sibling of Pro League duelist," Zeke muttered.

"What do you mean?" Reina asked.

"Vic's older sister, Rubi Taozi, she's known as the Divine Duelist, mainly because she uses a similar Deck to Vic," Zeke explained.

"Really, I wonder who she's going to feel about her brother losing his soul to a Darkness Game," Reina said clenching her fist so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"I don't know," Zeke sighed. "Oh ya I got second place in the design your own card contest held by Industrial Illusions!"

"Really what was the prize?" Reina inquired.

"Well for all three top places we received a copy of the card we created, plus the cards we made are going to be released in the newest pack, which if I remember is going to be called Mechanical Empire," Zeke explained. "In my case I was also allowed to request any four cards I wanted, the third place got ten of any packs they wanted and first place was allowed to request any twenty cards they wanted."

"Wow, so do you know who won first place?" Reina asked.

"It was Kazuki," Zeke said and Reina nodded.

"It must have been that Dragon I saw him drawing, no wonder he won it, that monster looked deadly and beautiful at the same time," she murmured.

They both saw what looked like a bolt of rainbow coloured energy heading straight for them. They both gasped and rolled out of the way just in time for the blast to smash into the tree they were under, blowing a huge chunk out of it.

The monster that had attacked them was a seven or eight feet tall fiendish looking creature with jet black skin and ram like horns as well as large bat like wings. In the Fiend's hand was a sasumata with two golden prongs.

Standing next to the Fiend was the Talia the girl Archer had been talking to on day one. "Well hello you two long time no see," she said each word dripping with venom.

"Do we know you?" Zeke asked angrily as he got to his feet.

"I'm Talia Yakushi you might not remember me it's been a while but I clearly remember you two very well, and I've come for my vengeance!" she snarled.

"Listen I don't remember who you are and I don't care, I've got no grudges with you, so why don't you leave before I make you," Reina growled.

"Oh but I have a huge grudge against you, Black Rose Bitch!" Talia spat. "Do you remember this!" she threw off her hood and both Reina and Zeke gasped. Talia had crimson coloured hair and cobalt coloured eyes but the most notable thing about her was that the left half of her face down to the upper part of her jaw was burned, badly.

"What happened to you?" Zeke asked.

"She attacked me and because of her this happened to me!" Talia cried pointing to Reina then to the disfigured part of her face.

"That's a load of crap," Zeke snapped. "Reina's never attacked anyone, well ok a few criminals but honestly she didn't hurt them badly."

"She's not as innocent as you may want to believe and now I've come to get revenge," Talia declared. "And I'll do it by taking away someone she loves like you!" she said pointing at Zeke.

"No, I don't duel to fuel revenge," Zeke said crossing his arms over his chest.

"If you don't I'll do this!" Talia shouted she pulled out her Duelist Disk which like Xander's looked like a demonic wing only it seemed to be made of bronze instead of bone. She pressed a button on the back and a ball of yellow energy shot out and slammed into Reina's chest. She yelped and flew backwards crashing into the ground.

"Now we're going to duel or I'm going to set it to something higher than stun," Talia said with a nasty smirk.

"Fine, I hate to do this but I have no choice!" Zeke growled activating his Duel Disk. "Reina are you alright?"

"I've been better," Reina moaned standing up.

"Let's begin your final duel ever Zeke!" Talia cackled.

**(Zeke: 8000) - (Talia: 8000)**

"Since last I checked it was ladies first I'll be making the first move," she sneered.

"Whatever, I'll take you down like every other one of Archer's goons I've had to duel so far," Zeke growled.

"I'll set a monster and a single card face down and that'll be all," Talia said.

"Hmmm, pretty standard opening move," Zeke muttered. "I summon Infernity Archfiend!" in a burst of black flames appeared the fiery haired robed Fiend. (AT0K 1800/DEF 1200)

"Attack her face down monster with Hell Pressure!" Infernity Archfiend spread his arms and the seal appeared in the sky. A moment later the giant hand descended on the face down monster.

It was revealed to be a short chubby Fiend dressed in black slacks with a black vest and white undershirt on, other than that it looked like a regular Fiend. (ATK 800/DEF 2000) It pushed the giant hand away as if it was nothing, then it pulled a deck of cards out of its pocket.

**(Zeke: 7800) - (Talia: 8000)**

"That's my Wicked Dealer and when he's flipped face up we both must discard one card then we get to draw a new one," Talia said dropping a card into her Graveyard.

Zeke did the same and then both of them pulled the top card off their Deck. The ground suddenly burst open and a creature with purple skin wearing bone armor and holding a pike crawled onto the field. (ATK 1600/DEF 1300)

"A Dark World Fiend, those things give regular Fiends, even my Archfiends a bad name," Zeke hissed. "Oh and the card I ditched as my Discard Clause so I get to draw a card."

"Yes and this is Beiige he acts as Vanguard of Dark Word and he does his job well," Talia laughed.

"Now I remember you!" Reina gasped. "You used to torment me every day, mainly about my mother being the Black Rose Witch!"

"Ya I remember her too," Zeke muttered. "But your family moved away."

"We moved away because you did this to me!" Talia snarled pointing at Reina.

"Hmph I remember I challenged you to a duel years ago, and that was when I first used my powers and hit you with a direct attack from Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis," Reina hissed. "You made my life hellish but I was still so upset about it I cried myself sick!"

"Heh, yes I know I was cruel, Hell I was down right sadistic," Talia chuckled. "I was the alpha female and anyone who wouldn't bow down paid the price, until you came along, but enough reminiscing back to your boyfriend's untimely death!"

"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Zeke said.

"I'm going to activate a card no Dark World Deck could do without, Graceful Charity!" instead of the normal angel a demonic parody appeared. She wore a black halter top and a black mini skirt and had bat like wings. Talia snickered at Zeke and Reina's reaction and handed her two cards.

The ground burst open and another Beiige appeared along with the ghostly version of a Fiend with brown fur on his shoulders and a bow clutched in his left hand. "This is Broww, Huntsman of Dark World and since he was just discarded by card effect I get to draw a card," Talia explained before pulling another card off the top of her Deck.

"Next I'm going to summon the puppet ruler of Dark World Brron, Mad King of Dark World!" psychotic laughter echoed through the park and then from behind Talia appeared a hideous Fiend. He wore a very dark blue coat and had what looked like bony finger like protrusions in place of hair, and his arms were bound by chains. (ATK 1800/DEF 400)

"I've heard of this guy, he was mentioned in Jaden Yuki's biography, when they traveled to another dimension Brron kidnapped four of his friends for some evil ritual, but it failed because Brron couldn't count past five," Zeke snickered.

"Hey I can so count past five, and if you don't be quiet I'll rip your head off!" a sinister voice shouted. Zeke and Reina gasped, mainly because Brron had just spoken.

"Wait, how did he just talk this isn't a Darkness Game!" Reina cried.

"Actually I have in my Deck a monster so evil its very presence creates a Darkness Game as soon as the duel begins!" Talia cackled in unison with Brron.

Brron continued to laugh and snapped the chains that bound his arms and then turned around to face Talia. "Ok toots give up the Duel Disk and I may just let you live," he demanded.

Talia just glared at Brron and he began to shake and backed down. "Good boy now be a nice lunatic and do as I say," Talia said sweetly. "I'm going to equip one of my Beiige's with Chtonian Alliance! This'll increase his attack points by 800 for every other Beiige on the field, and I see one other Beiige!" energy began to seep off one Beiige and into the other. (ATK 1600-2400/DEF 1300)

"Beiige number one attack with Dark World Impalement!" the powered up Beiige flew forward but Zeke's two face down card flipped up.

"Sorry but I activate Full and Depth Amulet, so first Depth Amulet activates and I can now negate your attack by discarding one card from my hand," an odd looking necklace appeared around Zeke's neck and after he slid a card into the Graveyard a powerful and evil aura blocked Beiige's attack.

"Now Full Salvo activates and I must discard every card in my hand and then you take 200 points of damage per card, and I have three!" Zeke threw his cards into the Graveyard and the missile launcher appeared behind him and three rockets were fired at Talia who jumped out of the way.

**(Zeke: 7800) - (Talia: 7400)**

"Well now what'll you do, you could destroy my Archfiend by attacking him with Brron but I don't think you'll do that," Zeke smirked.

"Heh you though wrong attack his Archfiend with Mad Dash!" Brron hesitated for a moment but Talia glared at him and the wicked monarch charged forward. The two monsters met in the center of the field and punched each other in the face both of them shattered like glass.

"Now Beiige number two, sic him!" the second bone armored Fiend charged at Zeke his weapon at the ready. Zeke dodged the spear but Beiige punched him in the stomach.

**(Zeke: 6200) - (Talia: 7400)**

"Ok now I'm _really_ not sorry I blasted you," Reina hissed.

"Like I give a crap what you think you little slut!" Talia snarled.

"Ok now I'm not just going to beat you, I'm going to destroy you!" Zeke roared. "Anyone who dares to insult Reina will feel my wrath!"

"Blah, blah, blah all you are is talk," Talia said mockingly. "I'll set a card face down and turn end."

Zeke drew and smirked. "I'm going to call out a card I got from the card design contest, say hello to Infernity Mirage!" in a burst of darkness appear a Fiend dressed in clothes that suggested Native American shaman, with a red feathered headdress and skin as white as paper. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"He may not be much for attacking but his effect is powerful," Zeke grinned. "Since I hold no cards I can release him to revive two Infernity monsters from my Graveyard!" Infernity Mirage dissolved into several black motes of light that formed two portals. From the portals came Infernity Archfiend and other wicked looking creature dressed in a black trench coat with the hood covering its face and a pair demonic wings on its back, in the creature's hand was a flamberge with a blade made cherry red metal. (ATK 1800/DEF 1100)

"Meet Infernity Death Swordsman and now my Archfiend's effect activates and I can add one Infernity card from my Deck to my hand," a card slid out of Zeke's Deck and he grabbed it then threw it into his Duel Disk.

"Death Swordsman attack her weaker Beiige with Blade of Insanity!" Death Swordsman nodded and flew forward and cleaved the Fiend in half and then flapped his wings and fired several small balls of energy that slammed into Talia. (ATK 2400-1600/DEF 1300)

**(Zeke: 6200) - (Talia: 6400)**

"Ugh what happened," Talia groaned.

"That was my Swordsman's effect, if I hold no cards when he trashes a monster you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's level times 200," Zeke explained.

"Infernity Archfiend destroy her other Beiige with Hell Pressure!" Infernity Archfiend held its arms up creating a smaller version of its normal portal in front of itself. The hand reached out and grabbed Beiige crushing the Fiend.

**(Zeke: 6200) - (Talia: 6200)**

"Since as always when I use this Deck I'm holding no cards so I'll end my turn," Zeke smirked.

Just as Talia drew her next card Zeke's face down card opened up. "I activate Infernity Break!" a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky vaporizing the Wicked Dealer. "I just have to remove an Infernity monster from my Graveyard and one of your cards is vaporized, and since Infernity Mirage can't be Special Summoned from the Graveyard he'll do just fine."

"That was a stupid move Zeke," Talia sneered. "You should've saved it for when I summoned something with more kick, the Wicked Dealer was just a wall."

"Just make your move," Zeke growled. In his head he slapped his palm to his forehead, she was right and he hated that.

"I activate Card of Safe Return, and now every time a monster is Special Summoned from my Graveyard I draw one card, and in Dark World Decks that happens a lot," Talia snickered.

"Now I activate Card Destruction, it doesn't see much use anymore, what with Magical Mallet being released and Hand Destruction serving the same purpose but with a better result. But for my Deck this card is perfect, we ditch out hands and then draw new cards equal to the number we discarded," Talia dropped the cards in her hand into the Graveyard and Zeke just crossed his arms over his chest.

From the ground erupted and from it appeared a hulking Fiend dressed in brown armor with huge bat like wings attached to his back and gleaming silver blades protruding from his wrists. (ATK 2300/DEF 1400)

"Meet Silva, Warlord of Dark World and like me he just loves his job," Talia laughed and then Card of Safe Return started to glow and she pulled a card off the top of her Deck.

"Hmm I drew someone you might want to meet, so say hello to Zure, Knight of Dark World!" next to Silva appeared another Fiend who seemed to be dressed in silver armor he wore a dark blue cape and held a broadsword with a blue blade. (ATK 1800/DEF 1500)

Zure looked back at Talia and then at Silva. "Silva why are we working for this pathetic human?" the Fiend asked angrily.

"Because Zure, she emits an aura of evil so powerful it overpowers our own, she holds a very evil force in her Deck, we can only hope he wins," Silva said pointing to Zeke.

"Why do you want me to win?" Zeke asked.

"Because it would be an honour to be defeated by the son of the wielder of Ccapac Apu who is revered as the God of all creatures that are Fiends," Zure said. "Except for those Fiends that have chosen to serve the Light that destroys worlds."

"Before I start destroying you I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon to trash your face down card!" the cyclone tore across the field and shattered Zeke's Infernity Barrier.

"Enough chit chat you two, Silva destroy his Death Swordsman with Quicksilver!" Silva flew forward and was about to slice Death Swordsman's head off when something blocked the attack.

It was a familiar Dark Warrior with white hair in spiked armor. He grabbed Silva's arm and shoved him back.

"That was my Necro Gardna, a Warrior but a Dark one, and his effect activates by removing him from the Graveyard, so he's more than welcome in my Deck," Zeke smirked as the card slipped out of his Graveyard.

"Fine and I won't have Zure attack, so I'll just end my turn," Talia snarled.

Zeke drew and grinned. "I activate Emergency Recharge and since I hold no other cards when I activated this card was activated I can draw four cards!"

"Now I'm going to release my Infernity Archfiend to call forth!" he shouted.

"Let me guess Infernity Destroyer, please he's only as strong as Silva and with cards in your hand you can't use his effect," Talia interrupted.

"Actually I'm not summoning Destroyer I'm summoning another Infernity you've likely never seen before, so Reina you might want to look away this thing is pretty ugly, come forth Infernity Poison Dragon!" Reina turned away and just in time because Infernity Archfiend began to thrash around before uttering one last gurgled cry, then he melted into purple ooze. The ooze began to bubble and a huge shape rose out of it. It defiantly looked like a Dragon but a Fiendish undead Dragon, its ribs were showing as well as most of the bones in its wings. (ATK 2100/DEF 1700)

Reina turned to see the new monster and gagged. "Zeke that is your ugliest Infernity yet, and I don't get how, but it reeks!"

"Really I don't notice anything," Zeke muttered.

"Ha that thing may be ugly but it's weaker than Silva, you should've stuck with Infernity Destroyer, and it does stink!" Talia laughed.

"I activate Wave-Motion Inferno!" a Spell card appeared on Zeke's side but nothing happened. "Of course it won't activate right away, not unless I have no cards in my hand, so I'll set two cards face down!" as soon as he did that fire erupted around Zeke and his two monsters.

"Now my Inferno grants all Infernity monsters a 400 point bonus for attacking or defending!" the flames began to lick at the two monsters, who seemed not to feel pain from them. (ATK 1800-2200/DEF 1100-1500) (ATK 2100-2500/DEF 1700-2100)

"Before you attack I'm going to activate my face down card Xing Zhen Hu!" two large blocks of wood with marks and intricate carvings on the side fell on top of Zeke's two face down cards, then ropes burst out of the ground and tied the blocks to the face down cards. "This'll keep you from activating your two face down cards."

"Ok, right now it doesn't matter Infernity Death Swordsman attack her Zure with your Blade of Insanity!" the evil swordsman flew forward and cleaved the other monster in two.

**(Zeke: 6200) - (Talia: 4800)**

"Poison Dragon attack her Silva with Deadly Fog Breath!" the decaying Dragon roared and Silva was struck by a blast of foul winds, he screamed in pain and exploded into purple goo.

**(Zeke: 6200) - (Talia: 4600)**

"Zeke did you really have to play that thing so soon after we ate lunch?" Reina asked, with her face starting to turn slightly green.

"Heh, sorry about that Reina, I kind of have no choice in what I draw," Zeke said rubbing the back of his head.

Talia noticed a ball of purple energy was floating around her. "Care to explain what this thing is?" she inquired.

"It's called an Infernal Poison Counter but don't worry its effect won't activate until later," Zeke explained with an evil grin.

"Since you're holding no cards I'll start my turn," Talia growled. "I set a monster and a card face down and that'll be all," as soon as Talia said she ended her turn Zeke's Depth Amulet exploded

"Since it's your third End Phase since I activated that card it's destroyed," Zeke muttered. "I'll set this monster face down and then I'll have Poison Dragon attack your face down monster!" the Dragon breathed another blast of poisonous fog and what was destroyed appeared to be some kind of living fruit.

"Hey I've heard of that card!" Reina shouted. "It's called Cured Fig, it's kind of useful, if not a weird card, but why do you have a Plant type monster?"

"Is their some kind of rule that say my Deck has to contain only one type of monster?" Talia growled. "If so show it to me and then disqualify both of us, because I know not all Infernity monsters are Fiends."

Several vines burst out of the ground and wrapped up the two face down cards Zeke had. "In case you didn't figure it out my Cursed Fig has a similar effect to my Xing Zhen Hu, only it's for as long as it remains in the Graveyard," she snickered.

"Crap," Zeke swore. He didn't have any cards that removed cards from an opponent's Graveyard.

"Infernity Death Swordsman attack her directly!" the infernal swordsman laughed and flew at Talia.

"I activate War Cry of Dark World!" a loud evil sounding roar echoed over the field and Death Swordsman jumped back. "This ends the Battle Phase and lets me add two Dark World monsters from my Deck to my hand!"

"Fine I'll end my turn," Zeke sighed.

"I activate The Cheerful Coffin and thanks to its effect I can now discard up to three monsters from my hand to the Graveyard," Talia selected two cards from her hand and dropped them into the Graveyard. "One was another Broww, and the other was Gren, Tactician of Dark World. You know what Broww does and when Gren is discarded I can destroy one Spell or Trap on the field like your Inferno!" a Fiend with a swelled cranium and a green cloak on appeared and fired a blast of energy shattering Zeke's Spell card. (ATK 2200-1800/DEF 1500-1100) (ATK 2500-2100/DEF 2100-1700)

"Now I get to draw twice more!" she laughed. "Now I'll set a card face down and activate Supreme Recharge, this card can only be activated while I have no cards in my hand and I'm behind in Life Points, now get to draw six cards!" she quickly pulled six cards off the top of her Deck.

"Perfect, I activate Indeterminate Power Selection!" she cried. "This card allows me to select and add one monster in my Deck with ? attack or defense points and add it to my hand. The trade-off is I can't summon it this turn, so I'll set a monster face down and that'll be all."

"I summon Infernity Beast!" the monster that appeared seemed to be some sort of wicked looking dog with two green sacks on the side of its throat. (ATK 1600/DEF 1200)

"Infernity Beast attack her face down monster with Hell Howling!" the twisted dog inhaled and then howled unleashing a blast of sound waves that struck what appeared to be a cross between an ape and a Fiend, it was wearing red armor and clutching a dagger.

"Why thank you that was my Scarr, Scout of Dark World and when he dies I can add a level four or lower Dark World monster from my Deck to my hand," Talia said mockingly as card fell out of her Deck.

"Poison Dragon Death Swordsman both of you would you mind attacking her directly and shutting her up!" Poison Dragon fired a blast of poison fog and Death Swordsman cackled and flew at Talia.

She dodged both attacks but her Life Points dropped dramatically.

**(Zeke: 6200) - (Talia: 700)**

"Looks like I'm going to win by a landslide," Zeke smirked. "This'll be you last move unless you pull a Yusei."

"Who came up with that lame joke?" Reina asked.

"My guess would be Jack," Zeke responded.

"If you two don't mind you might want to pay attention because I'm about to summon something that'll shock and terrify you!" Talia laughed.

"There are very few things I'm afraid of," Zeke smirked.

"I activate Monster Reincarnation and then I'll ditch a card to add one of my Beiige's back to my hand," Talia discarded another Scarr and one of the two Beiige cards in her Graveyard slid out.

"Now I'll activate a second Cheerful Coffin and discard the two Beiige's I'm holding and the second Silva I have!" she dropped the three named cards into her Graveyard and three Fiends rose up.

"Ok I'm still not scared, only your Silva can really do something other than kill itself," Zeke sneered.

"I'm not done, since I haven't used up my Normal Summon yet, I'll release all three of my monsters!" the three Fiends were struck by a bolt of black lightning and exploded into motes of black light.

"What could she be summoning?" Reina asked, although she didn't want to know the answer.

"Dark one who has been sealed away," Talia said starting to chant. "I offer you these three sacrifices to sate you hunger, arise God who erases another God! Come forth The Wicked Eraser!" the motes vanished and were replaced by green flames, from the flames appeared a creature that looked like a twisted combination of a Fiend and a Dragon. Its body was covered in what looked like brown armor and its wings looked like the tray of Talia's Duel Disk. (ATK ?/DEF ?)

The Eraser threw back its head and roared. "Well what do you think of my ultimate monster?" Talia asked.

Reina and Zeke could only stare at the monster in shock. This was the first time they'd seen one of the Wicked Gods in person and it terrified them

"Well I may as well tell you how it gains attack and defense points," Talia smirked. "It gains 1000 for every card you control and I count four monsters and two face down cards!" The Wicked Eraser hissed and flexed its claws. (ATK 0-6000/DEF 0-6000)

**(Zeke: 6200) - (Talia: 700)**

"Eraser attack his Infernity Beast with Digestive Blaze!" the massive Fiend breathed a stream of green flames that swallowed up Infernity Beast. (ATK 6000-5000/DEF 6000-5000)

**(Zeke: 1800) - (Talia: 700)**

"Zeke you've got to get up please," Reina begged shaking her boyfriend who'd been hurled backwards by the impact of the attack.

"Oh what hit me?" Zeke moaned. "Oh ya a Wicked God hit Infernity Beast and the shockwave hit me."

"Zeke do you think you can still stand up?" Reina asked.

"Ya I'll be alright, relatively speaking," Zeke said and with another groan and some help from Reina he got to his feet.

"You really should stay down," Talia said faking concern.

"I'd never just lie down and die, it would make Reina very sad if I just gave up," Zeke whispering the last part. "So are you going to do something because you have eight cards in your hand?"

"Yes I'll set three cards face down and that'll be all," Talia sneered.

"I'll switch my two monsters into defense mode and set a card face down and then turn end," Zeke said as both his monsters covered themselves with their arms and wings. (ATK 5000-6000/DEF 5000-6000)

Talia drew and started to laugh. "Oh how I wish I'd drawn this card last turn, the duel would've been over and you'd be dead, oh well, I activate Berserker Assault!" flames started to gather in The Eraser's maw. "Now The Wicked Eraser can attack every monster on your side of the field!" the twisted version of Osiris the Sky Dragon roared and fired a torrent of green flames that enveloped everything on Zeke's side of the field.

The flames started to churn and were launched back. "Sorry but my Infernity Force says otherwise, in fact it say your Eraser dies and I get an Infernity monster back from my Graveyard!" the flames flew at The Wicked Eraser but Talia pressed a button on her Duel Disk.

"I activate my Body as a Shield and then I'll chain Emergency Provisions and give up My Body as Shield and my face down card!" the two cards dissolved into motes of light that were absorbed by Talia. The flames then stopped in mid air and turned around back towards Zeke's side of the field. "Now your Trap is negated and your monsters are about to die!" the flames struck covering Zeke's field in green fire.

When the flames settled the only things remaining were Zeke's two trapped face downs and a large floating shield filled with fire and surrounded by a blue boarder, better known as Infernity Guardian. (ATK 6000-3000/DEF 6000-3000) (ATK 1200/DEF 1700)

**(Zeke: 1800) - (Talia: 1200)**

The two purple spheres exploded and Talia started to hack and cough. "That would be the effect of my Infernity Poison Dragon, when he leaves the field you take 400 points of damage for every Infernal Poison Counter that was on it, and I take it you know my Infernity Guardian?" Zeke explained.

**(Zeke: 1800) - (Talia: 400)**

"Hmph, Infernity Guardian won't hold forever, eventually you'll draw a card you can't use and then it'll be destroyed!" Talia laughed.

"That is unless I draw something I can use to win this!" Zeke declared. "Now are you going to finish your turn or are you going to try to bore me to death?"

"Heh, really funny, but like all other funny people you have but one destination the fiery bowels of Hell!" Talia laughed.

"Someone doesn't like comedians," Reina muttered.

"I'll set a card face down and then I'll end my turn," Talia smirked.

Zeke drew and scowled. In his Deck was a card that could help him just needed to draw it, but would he get it in time? "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn," Zeke muttered. (ATK 3000-4000/DEF 3000-4000)

Talia rolled her eyes. "You're merely delaying the inevitable the two of you can't stop Master Archer, and in the end the world will be his!"

"The beginning of that sentence must be the single most clichéd villainous line ever," Zeke scoffed.

"Who cares what you think," Talia snarled. "Master Archer will make the world a better place, free of poverty, hunger and war, why do you two oppose him, Zeke he could make you so much more powerful!"

"Because I won't allow anyone to conquer the world as long a I have at least a tiny bit of power to stop them, I won't let everything Reina's parents, and Rob's father and Josh's father and Leo and Luna did go to waste!" Zeke roared.

"A very nice speech," Talia said clapping. "It made you sound like a hero. But one thing about heroes Zeke, they die! Even Jaden Yuki will perish someday, and so will Yugi Muto and everyone else who is or considers themselves a hero, but evil is immortal, it lasts forever!"

"Wait Yugi Muto is alive, then why is this called Muto Memorial Park?" Zeke asked and both Reina and Talia fell over.

"It was created in memory of his heroics over the years, Zeke, he's alive, just old," Reina said. "And Talia you have officially gone completely freaking fruit loops in my book."

"Reina you seem to forget one key fact, you're a monster so your opinion holds to sway over me!" Talia snapped.

Reina was about to say something but was interrupted. "Admit it, all your powers can do is destroy, and cause pain and misery," Talia said. "Your mother knew it and I can bet your boyfriend knows it and even he must consider you a monster!"

"I….no what I mean is…..I'm, I'm," Reina said with tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "I'm not a monster," she whimpered.

Zeke walked over to Reina and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Reina you're not a monster like your mother you were just given a blessing that seems like a curse," he said gently.

He stood up and glared at Talia. "And just for that I'm going to….you know what? Forget it, you just want me to get angry so I'll slip up, well forget it!"

"Whatever, Eraser destroy his face down monster with Digestive Blaze!" the armored Fiend fired another blast of flames that incinerated Zeke's face down monster.

"I'll end my turn," Talia scoffed.

Zeke drew and nodded to himself. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot," the familiar grinning jar appeared and both duelists pulled three cards off their Decks.

"Now I'm going to release Infernity Guardian to call out Infernity Destroyer!" Infernity Guardian vanished and was replaced by the hulking Fiend. (ATK 2300/DEF 1000)

"Now I activate Monster Reborn to revive the Infernity Beetle in my Graveyard!" no ankh appeared but a large black stag beetle appeared. (ATK 1200/DEF 0)

"Now I'll tune my level two, Infernity Beetle and my level six, Infernity Destroyer…," Zeke began.

"_When the curtain of darkness is torn open the howls of the underworld will be heard. Swoop down, born from the heart of darkness. Hundred-Eyes Wyrm!" _

Reina let out a sigh of relief. _"For a second there I thought he was going to somehow summon Hundred-Eyes Dragon,"_ she thought.

Infernity Beetle took to the air and became two green rings, both surrounded Infernity Destroyer who roared. A blast of shadows erupted from the Synchro gates, and formed into a large portal. Several red points of light appeared in the portal and something flew out.

At first glace the creature Zeke had just summoned could be mistaken for Kalin Kessler's, Dark Synchro monster. Like Hundred-Eyes it hide was jet black, but its eyes were red no purple, it had normal Dragon like wings sticking out of its back instead of Insect like ones and it had three horns on its head instead of just one. (ATK 3000/DEF 2500)

Somewhere in New Domino

While his son was dueling, Kalin was eating lunch at a small restaurant near where he worked. He was waiting for his order to come to his table. He shivered. "Hmmm, weird I just had the oddest feeling, like when I died," he muttered. "I hope Zeke's ok."

"Reina this is the card I designed for the contest, I can't believe I didn't win it, this guy is cool right?" Zeke asked.

"Kind of I guess, it's definitely ugly," Reina muttered and Zeke sweatdropped.

"No matter," Zeke grinned. "I'll activate my Wyrm's effect which can only be activated during my first Main Phase. I can remove from play an Infernity monster and until my next Standby Phase my Wyrm's effect is treated as the effect of the removed monster, so I'll remove my Death Swordsman!" the eye on Hundred-Eyes Wyrm's chest opened the image of Infernity Death Swordsman appeared.

"Hundred-Eyes Wyrm attack her Wicked Eraser with Infinity Psycho Stream!" the evil looking Dragon roared and fired a blast of purple energy from its jaws.

"But your monster will die too!" Talia screamed.

"Actually no, because my Wyrm has another effect, if it would be destroyed by battle I can remove an Infernity monster from my Graveyard to negate its destruction, and you on the other hand will lose 2000 Life Points, five times what you have!" Zeke roared.

"I won't let that happen!" Talia shouted. "Reveal face down card Ring of Destruction, so now your Dragon dies and we both take 3000 points of damage!" a metal ring with burning grenades appeared around Hundred-Eyes Wyrm's neck. It exploded and the blast struck both Zeke and Talia.

**(Zeke: 0) - (Talia: 0)**

Reina ran over to Zeke. "Zeke can you hear me?" she asked. "Please Zeke say something?"

"Something," Zeke groaned.

"That wasn't funny," Reina laughed. "How are you feeling?"

"Kind of like someone took a sledgehammer to my chest," Zeke said. "But other than that I feel fine."

"Well that's good!" a familiar voice snarled. Talia was standing near the couple with her Duel Disk active. "Wicked Eraser come forth!" the serpentine pseudo-God monster appeared and hissed. "Any last words before I kill both of you?"

"I have some," someone said. Talia gulped and turned around and came face to face with Leon Archer. "Talia how are you?"

"I'm…..d...doing….doing good sir," Talia stuttered.

"Now please answer my next question as honestly as you can," Archer said. "Were you or were you not just about to kill Ms. Fudo and Mr. Kessler even though you didn't win that duel?"

"Well….you….y…you see sir…the thing is….," Talia stuttered until Archer silenced her by raising his hand.

"Talia I do not accept failure, but another thing I do not accept is someone who doesn't honour their deals, and the agreement we had was that if you failed to defeat someone they would be allowed to live, you failed to win did you not!"

Talia just bowed her head and deactivated her Duel Disk. "That's a good girl now let's take our leave," Archer commanded. The two left but Talia turned around for a second and mouthed. 'I'll get you next time'.

"Well that was an _unusual_ experience," Zeke muttered.

"More so than what's been going on lately," Reina sighed. "Well we've seen one of the three Wicked Gods, and it was nasty."

"I wonder if she's the one who put Aaron Zebel in a coma," Zeke mused. "I guess we'll never know, but what if someone else is out there in the tournament with the other Wicked God?"

"I don't know, we'd best warn Rob, Mel, and Josh," Reina said. "Your dad is going to flip when he finds out about Hundred-Eyes Wyrm."

**Melissa: The first of The Wicked Gods has appeared.**

**Josh: And Zeke showed off some new Infernity cards.**

**Rob: No far he gets the coolest cards!**

**Zeke: Rob life isn't fair, so suck it up.**

**Vincent: Well folks Reina is going to duel again next but we can't tell you the name of the chapter.**

**Reina: Oh no it can't be, not that!**

**Original Cards**

Wicked Dealer

Dark | Level 4 | Fiend/Effect | 800/2000 | When this card is flipped face up both players discard one card and then draw one card.

Infernity Death Swordsman

Dark | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1800/1100 | While you have no cards in your hand, when this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's Level times 200.

Infernity Poison Dragon

Dark | Level 5 | Dragon/Effect | 2100/1700 | While you have no cards in your, when this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle place one 'Infernal Poison Counter' on this card. When this card is removed from the field inflict 400 points of damage to your opponent equal to the amount of 'Infernal Poison Counter(s)' that were on this card.

War Cry of Dark World

Image: Silva, Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark and several Beiige's charging at an army of terrified Warriors.

| Trap | Activate this card only during your opponent's Battle Phase. Automatically end the Battle Phase and then you may add two level four or lower 'Dark World' monsters from your Deck to your hand.

Supreme Recharge

Image: The same image as Emergency Recharge, only a burst of electricity is shooting out of the Duel Disk.

| Spell | Activate this card only while you have no other cards in your hand and your Life Points are less than your opponent's. Draw six cards.

Indeterminate Power Selection

Image: A hand reaching for a Gren Maju Da Eiza card that is sitting among several other cards with ? attack and defense points.

| Spell | Select and add to your hand a monster in your Deck with ? attack or defense points. It may not be summoned during this turn.

Hundred-Eyes Wyrm

Dark | Level 8 | Dragon/Synchro/Effect | 3000/2500 | 1 Dark Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner 'Infernity' monsters. Once per turn during your Main Phase 1 you may remove an 'Infernity' monster from your Graveyard while you hold no cards. This card's effect is treated as the removed monster's effect until your next Standby Phase. (This monster keeps its final effect.) If this card would be destroyed by battle while you hold no cards, you may remove an 'Infernity' monster from your Graveyard to negate this card's destruction. (Damage calculation is applied normally.)


	25. Ch25: Nightmare Reborn

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twenty-Five: Nightmare Reborn

It was late at night and still day three. But for a Turbo Duelist it was the worst night of their Life. They were in a duel and losing badly. They only had 1500 Life Points left and they had four Speed Counters and a single face down card. Their opponent had 6900 Life Points left and twelve Speed Counters, they also had a face down card and a huge monster looming over them.

The person with higher Life Points drew and smirked. "I activate Dust Tornado so your face down card is destroyed!" a whirlwind full of dirt and debris flew out of the Trap card and shattered the other duelist's Mirror Force.

"No wait, I surrender, please!" the other person begged.

"I don't accept surrender and you'll find that thanks to me your Runner won't shut down until your Life Points actually hit zero, so die!" the massive monster flew forward and slammed into the other duelist who was thrown off his Runner. He slammed into the road and his Runner passed over top of him and smashed into the ground.

The other duelist smirked. "Yes this Deck works very well…..very soon Yusei Fudo you'll know the pain I felt, especially once I smear your daughter all over the highway!" the mysterious Turbo Duelist cackled.

Several minutes later

Someone had called the Public Security and Maintenance Bureau, which was also known as Sector Security. Tetsu Trudge the current Chief of the Duel Chasers squad pulled his Runner up to the scene of the incident. Several other Security members where already on there and some of them were standing around the wreckage of the Runner others around the body of the duelist covered by a white sheet.

An officer noticed Trudge and saluted. "Sir!" he shouted.

Trudge saluted back. "Well care to explain to me what exactly happened here, Kazama?"

The officer, known as Kazama, someone Team 5D's knew fairly well sighed and looked back at the body. "Well sir it seems this poor soul was challenged to a Turbo Duel and crashed at the end, the on board computer said one last direct attack was what did it," he explained and Trudged gritted his teeth.

"You mean to tell me it could be one of _them_?" Trudge asked clearing angry.

"Unfortunately sir, it seems that way, and that could mean several things," Kazama said.

"It's just like the incident twenty years ago," Trudge growled. "And this time we may have to rely on Reina and her friends to end this."

"You can't mean that sir!" Kazama exclaimed in shock.

"Yes Kazama I do," Trudge sighed. "If she's anything like her father or mother she'll hopefully be able to end this, and maybe come one step closer to solving the mysteries going on in this tournament."

"I take it you mean the actually damage and the people falling into coma's sir?" Kazama asked and Trudge only responded with a nod.

"Remember Kazama, no one is to know about the strange goings on, by orders of Leon Archer," Trudge said.

Kazama nodded. "I understand sir."

Early the next morning

Reina was up, which at this time of day, when she didn't have to go to school was unusual. But she was fired up especially after Zeke's duel against Talia.

She sighed. She'd been hearing rumours of a mysterious Turbo Duelist forcing people to duel and then making them crash. "Sounds like Ghost," she murmured.

"_Speed World set on," _her Runner's computerized voice said. _"Duel mode engaged auto-pilot disabled."_

"What in the," Reina said. "I thought only the Duel Chasers could do that?"

"_Heh, no I can do it too,"_ a sinister yet charming voice said. _"And now Reina Fudo you shall pay for the sins of your parents past!"_

"Are you Koda Kinomiya, because if you are I'd heard you'd gone bankrupted due to extreme medical expenses," Reina growled.

"_No that fool got what he deserved,"_ the voice chuckled. _"No I have score to settle with your father!"_

"Fine if you want to duel me then show yourself!" Reina challenged.

Something pulled up next to Reina. It was a silver streamlined Duel Runner with four boosters on the back. "Well do you like it?" the rider asked.

Reina growled. It bore a striking resemblance to Placido's Duel Runner, but he was dead, or at least Reina hoped.

"My name is Coby Heriku and like I said I have a score to settle with your father," the rider said. "And Reina Fudo you'll be the tool I use for my vengeance!"

"Duel!" the both shouted.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 0) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 0)**

"I'll be making the first move!" Coby shouted.

"So you're nuts and rude," Reina said. "Good combination you must be a real lady killer."

"I'm normally quite suave and yes I am normally a lady killer," Coby grinned and somehow his teeth seemed to sparkle. "Metaphorically but I'll go for literally today!"

"I'll set a monster face down and two cards face down and end my turn," three face down cards appeared around Coby's Runner, two of them quickly vanished.

Just as Reina when to draw one of Coby's face down card flipped up. "Reveal face down card Extra Bomb!" he laughed. "Now if you don't Synchro or Fusion Summon by the End Phase you'll take 200 points of damage for every monster in your Extra Deck. But should you perform either of those two kinds of summons then you'll gain that much."

"_Crap, I have a full Extra Deck, if I fail I'll take 3000 points of damage if I succeed I have a feeling I'm doing what he wants me to do,"_ Reina thought.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

"Fine I guess I'll have to play along!" Reina snarled. "I'll discard my Quillbolt Hedgehog to Special Summon my Quickdraw Synchron!" from the portal appeared a small robot dressed like a cowboy, it was even holding a small toy gun. (ATK 700/DEF 1400)

"Now since I control a Tuner monster Quillbolt Hedgehog is going to be making an appearance!" the orange furred Machine monster that looked more like a Beast appeared on the field. (ATK 800/DEF 800)

"Now I'm going to tune my two monsters together but first I should tell you I'm allowed to substitute Quickdraw for any Synchron Tuner monster, so activate Synchron Shooting Gallery!" the three lights on the robots chest began to project a large wheel with several monsters on it. The wheel started to spin and the robot pulled out his gun and shot a hole in the Nitro Synchro card.

"Good choice as always Quickdraw so now I'm tuning my level five, Quickdraw Synchron, and my level two, Quillbolt Hedgehog…," Reina began.

"_These clustering minds will awaken a force that strikes down evil! Become the path light in born upon! Synchro Summon! Blaze on, Nitro Warrior!"_

Quickdraw Synchron became five Synchro gates and Quillbolt Hedgehog curled up into a ball and became orange framework. From the burst of light appeared a Warrior that looked more like a Fiend, with green and dark blue skin and a jet engine on its rear. (ATK 2800/DEF 1800)

"Very good now you gain Life Points equal to the amount cards in yours Extra Deck times 200," Coby said mocking.

**(Reina: 10800 – SPC: 1) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

"Nitro Warrior attack his face down monster with Dynamite Knuckle!" Nitro Warrior rocketed forward and crushed a familiar three eyed Fiend.

"Ugh a Sangan," Reina muttered.

"Yes so now I can add a weak monster from my Deck to my hand!" Coby laughed as a card slid out of his Deck. "Any other moves you'd like to make?"

"Yes I'll set a monster face down and then I'll follow that with a face down card and then turn end!" Reina shouted.

**(Reina: 10800 – SPC: 2) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"Now I'm going to summon a monster that would be familiar to your father!" Coby declared. "I summon Wise Core!" from behind Coby appeared a huge metal egg. It split open revealing a glowing blue sphere in the center.

"Shit," Reina hissed. Her father had told her about the Machine Emperor cards, including their core cards this was obviously Wisel's.

"And with that card on the field, I'll activate Spark Breaker, and now I select one face up monster I control and all monsters with that name are destroyed!" a blast of electricity shot out of the Trap card. It struck the egg shaped Machine blowing it to scrap metal. "And last I checked the only monster I controlled was Wise Core!"

"No that means….," Reina gasped.

"Yes since Wise Core when to the Graveyard by card effect, I first destroy every monster I control and then I can Special Summon from my Deck, hand or Graveyard the following five monsters!" a huge portal opened behind Coby and five cards appeared in the portal.

"First up is Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity!" the monster that appeared looked like a UFO in the stereotypical saucer shape with spike like protrusions on the side and an infinity symbol on the front. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Then Wisel Top!" another monster appeared this one looked like a large white cobra or some other kind of snake. (ATK 500/DEF 0)

"Next is Wisel Attack!" the next monster was seed shaped with a blade sticking out of the bottom. (ATK 1200/DEF 0)

"Followed by Wisel Guard!" the next monster was saucer shaped but with five bumps on it, two on the top three on the bottom. (ATK 0/DEF 1200)

"Finally the last piece of the puzzle that is my ultimate monster, Wisel Carrier!" the final monster also looked like some kind of space ship with two large comma shaped boosters on either side. (ATK 800/DEF 600)

"Now Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity I activate your effect, combine!" the infinity symbol on the Machine Emperor's chest opened up and sparks burst out of the spikes and grabbed hold of the other pieces. Wisel Top became the head, Wisel Attack became the left arm, Wisel Guard became the right arm and Wisel Carrier became the legs. (ATK 0-2500/DEF 0)

Reina starred at the huge robot before and gulped. _"Well part of me always wanted to face this thing, but I don't know why!"_ she thought. "You're giant robot doesn't scare me!"

"Really then maybe this will!" Coby laughed. "Wisel I activate your other effect, absorb Nitro Warrior!" the glowing core in Wisel's chest flashed and four tendrils of light flew out and grabbed Nitro Warrior. The Warrior struggled but was pulled into Wisel's chest. Wisel's optic sensors flashed and a burning aura surrounded Wisel Attack. (ATK 2500-5300/DEF 0)

"Before I begin your destruction I'll activate my face down card!" he cackled. "Infinite Wrath, so now every time an Infinity monster destroys a monster you control while equipped with a Synchro monster, you take damage equal to the Synchro monster's level times 200!"

"What!" Reina cried in shock

"Wisel kill his face down monster!" he commanded. Wisel didn't move at first, in fact the only thing it did was stare down at Coby, with what seemed to be hate in its optic sensors. Then is flew forward and cleaved what appeared to be a small robot with a blue body and three wheels, two in the front a single in the back.

Reina howled in pain as a blast of energy from Wisel's chest struck her. She started to swerve but managed to regain control of her bike. _"That really hurt….oh crap!"_ she thought.

**(Reina: 9400 – SPC: 1) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"You just trashed my Tricular, so now I get Bicular from my Deck!" from a portal appeared a robot that looked similar to Tricular only it lacked the third wheel and was mostly yellow. (ATK 200/DEF 200)

"Just more target practice for Wisel," Coby sneered. "Face it Reina, unless you have Shooting Star Dragon you lose!"

"I'm still in this until you drop my Life Points down to zero or cause me to crash!" Reina snarled. "And how dare you use that cursed monster, my father and mother and the other Signers burned those cards for a reason!"

"Oh believe me Reina your Life Points will reach zero, but more than likely you'll crash, and nothing you can do can stop it!" Coby retorted. "And they destroyed these _wonderful_ cards because they were cowards!"

"Shut and just end your turn already!" Reina growled.

"Gladly I'll just set two cards face down and then I'll end my turn," Coby sneered.

Reina drew and looked back at the monster floating above Coby. It seemed to emit pure malice buts it wasn't directed towards her, it was focused on Coby.

**(Reina: 9400 – SPC: 2) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 3)**

"I activate my one of my two face down cards, Reckless Greed, so now I can draw twice but I must skip my next two Draw Phases, but with Wisel what do I care!" Coby snickered tearing two cards off his Deck.

"You're a fool," Reina smirked. "Seto Kaiba himself once said it was foolish to rely on a single monster. And considering Wisel itself is the weak link in those monsters I just have to destroy it to snap the chain!"

"Seto Kaiba said that," Coby sneered. "What a high minded fool, his Deck was focused around the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and you'll never defeat Wisel!"

"My father did and so will I!" Reina declared. _"In fact I have a Speed Spell that could do just that but I'm lacking on Speed Counters to use it, maybe this jerk can help me."_

"I'll set another monster face down and then I'll set a card face down and end my turn," she said.

**(Reina: 9400 – SPC: 3) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 4)**

"Wisel attack her Bicular and send it to the scrap heap where it belongs!" Wisel was once again slow to react but soon cleaved Bicular in two and another blast of energy struck Reina.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 2) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 4)**

Reina panted as sweat poured down her face. Right now she wished she hadn't woken up this morning and wished even more Coby hadn't run into her. "I'm still in this, you pompous asshole!" Reina goaded. "And with Bicular gone little Unicycular takes its place," from the portal appeared a small red robot. It looked at Wisel and began to shake in terror. (ATK 100/DEF 100)

"So it does and so you are," Coby snickered and Reina gulped. "I activate Stolen Fury!" a blast of energy shot from Wisel's chest and slammed into Reina with such force she almost flew off her Runner.

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 0) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 4)**

"What….just…..happened," Reina asked weakly.

"The powerful Trap card Stolen Fury," Coby sneered pulling up along side Reina. "You see Nitro Warrior is angry at you for not protecting him, so his rage was unleashed upon you in the form of his attack points being thrown at you!"

"Now I'll end my turn by setting two cards face down," he said.

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 1) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 5)**

Reina shakily drew her next card and grinned when she saw it. "I activate my Speed Spell – Overboost so now I gain four Speed Counters but during my End Phase my Speed Counters will drop back to on, a fair trade off if you asked me," she said.

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 5) - (Coby: 8000 – SPC: 5)**

"Now I activate Speed Spell – Trap Launcher and just like it says I can now automatically activate a Trap card from my hand," she smirked. "Like I don't know Dust Tornado, so Nitro Warrior you're free!" the debris filled tornado flew across the road and slapped into Wisel's chest. Nitro Warrior in spirit form appeared and nodded to Reina before shattering. (ATK 5300-2500/DEF 0)

"But you haven't seen the last of him," Reina grinned. "I'll activate Call of the Haunted!" from the road burst Nitro Warrior and he looked _pissed_!

"Now I'll summon Speed Warrior!" from the portal appeared a Warrior in grey armor with a breathing apparatus on his face. (ATK 900/DEF 400)

"Speed Warrior attack Wisel Guard with your Sonic Edge!" Speed Warrior's eyes glowed and he charged forward. "Oh and small fact about Speed Warrior since it's the Battle Phase of the turn I normal Summoned him he has his attack points doubled!" (ATK 900-1800/DEF 400) Speed Warrior let out another battle cry and then jumped up and delivered a brutal round house kick to Wisel's right arm. It sparked for a second then exploded.

"Nitro Warrior attack Wisel with your Dynamite Knuckle!" Nitro Warrior roared and flew forward striking the large robot's chest with both fists. Wisel howled in pain and then the main body exploded. Seconds later so did the remaining pieces.

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 5) - (Coby: 7700 – SPC: 5)**

"Damn you!" Coby snarled.

"You may as well give up," Reina sneered. "Without Wisel I bet you don't have a single monster capable of defeating Nitro Warrior."

"Oh how wrong you are," Coby said under his breath. "I won't surrender until you're dead!"

"What do you have against my father?" Reina demanded angrily. "Are you some friend of Lotten because everyone else who may have a grudge against him reformed or is Jack!"

"No I'm no friend of who ever Lotten is," Coby muttered. "I'm a duelist who has his life ruined by people like your father!"

"Ummm, nice people who scowl a lot," Reina chuckled.

"No you stupid bitch!" Coby roared. "I was an Elemental Hero duelist in fact I was considered the best Elemental Hero duelist since Jaden Yuki!"

"Oh, now I get it," Reina murmured. "Synchro monsters ruined you career and you blame my father because of the Deck type he uses."

"That and more," Coby said.

"You see I was an aspiring duelist in the Pro Leagues, and one who seemed like he'd rise to glory and stay there," Coby began. "But several years before I joined the Pros an announcement was made. A new kind of monster was supposedly going to be created, one that would totally alter the game."

He paused and sighed. "Most people thought it was just crap, but at the very first ever Kaiba Land Cup, a Zombie type duelist appeared using a proto-type card, Doomkaiser Dragon. Needless to say the kid was deadly, he won and the very first Synchro monster had appeared. Only weeks later a Warrior duelist appeared using Junk Warrior, he too cleaned everyone's clocks. People like me were pissed, Synchro monsters and the rule a fifteen card limit to the Extra Deck would ruin us!"

"So Doomkaiser was the first Synchro monster, too bad I'd always hoped it was one of the Warrior monsters," Reina muttered.

"Whatever, needless to say several people protested the creation of Synchro and Tuner monsters. Most people said they would ruin the game, I guess they didn't realize that the Psychic type would die without Synchros backing it, most people said that people would start creating cookie cutter Decks. But I continued to duel in the Pro League for several years, I did quite well, luckily I never faced too many Synchro duelists. That quickly changed, at a Pro League exhibition nineteen years ago I decided to challenge a random person in the audience, unfortunately I chose your father as my opponent. I knew the stories people told about him, that he was some kind of genius duelist and that he was nearly unbeatable!"

"I should've accepted his offer to select another person, but I had my pride to think about to. I knew it would be tough, but I hoped I could win, after three rounds I knew I was doomed, he had Turbo Warrior and Road Warrior on the field, I think he held back against me but he annihilated me. And I lost my nerve and had trouble dueling, anytime I faced a Synchro monster I froze up, people like Jack Atlas walked all over me, I was dropped by sponsors like a diseased pet!"

"So I vowed that I would have my revenge on all duelists who dared to use Synchro monsters and Archer created a perfect Deck for my, an Anti-Synchro Deck!" Coby laughed. "You and your father and Josh and his father you'll all suffer!"

"Well now that that _interesting_ story is out of the way, I'll end my turn," Reina said. (ATK 1800-900/DEF 400)

"You may think Wisel was my only monster another than Sangan, but you're wrong!" Coby snarled.

**(Reina: 5200 – SPC: 2) - (Coby: 7700 – SPC: 6)**

"I'll summon Synchro Devourer!" from the portal emerged a lanky Fiend with grey skin and a three claws on each hand, it didn't seem to have any eyes only a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. (ATK 1800/DEF 1600)

"I have a really bad feeling about that thing," Reina muttered.

"And you should be because when it attacks a Synchro monster that monster has its attack points reduced down to zero, during the damage step only," Coby sneered. "So Devourer attack her Nitro Warrior!" the Fiend snarled and flew at Reina's monster.

"I activate Ready for Intercepting, so Nitro Warrior will be flipped face down," the Trap card glowed and Nitro Warrior was about to disappear when Coby's face down card flipped open.

"I activate my Trap Jammer, so now your Ready for Intercepting fails to work and Nitro Warrior is dead!" the seal appeared bellow Reina's Trap and it shattered. Synchro Devourer raised its claws and Nitro Warrior groaned weakly. (ATK 2800-0/DEF 1800) The thin Fiend slashed Reina's monster causing it to explode into shards.

**(Reina: 3400 – SPC: 1) - (Coby: 7700 – SPC: 6)**

"Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Coby sneered.

Reina drew and scowled. Nothing in her hand could help her right now. But a plan was forming.

**(Reina: 3400 – SPC: 2) - (Coby: 7700 – SPC: 7)**

"I activate my Call of the Haunted and with it I resurrect Wise Core!" in a burst of black energy appeared the mechanical egg.

"_He wants me to attack that thing, I'm betting that other face down will destroy it or protect it then he'll summon Wisel back,"_ Reina thought. "I'll move Speed Warrior to defense mode and then I'll set another card face down and call it a turn!"

**(Reina: 3400 – SPC: 3) - (Coby: 7700 – SPC: 8)**

"Oh well I have hoping you'd be stupid enough to attack my Wise Core," Coby sighed.

"Sorry but I inherited my fathers smarts and my mother's good looks and smarts," Reina grinned. "So if you'd hurry this up, just summon back Wisel so I can trash it again, please."

"That first time was a fluke if you ask me and now I'll activate Bomb Blast," Coby growled. "So now I can destroy up to three Machine type monsters that haven't attacked and inflict damage to you equal to their Levels times 400, so goodbye Wise Core!" Wise Core floated over to Reina and the sphere inside started to flash red, after a second it exploded jarring Reina.

**(Reina: 3000 – SPC: 3) - (Coby: 7700 – SPC: 8)**

"So now I destroy my Synchro Devourer and call back the star of this Deck!" Coby laughed as Synchro Devourer exploded and the huge portal opened up and the pieces of Wisel reappeared. (ATK 0-2500/DEF 0)

"Now I activate my last face down card Foolish Revival!" Coby laughed. "This allows me to Special Summon a monster from your Graveyard back to your side of the field in defense mode, like your Nitro Warrior!" the ground burst open and Nitro Warrior reappeared, his arms crossed over his chest, he looked back at Reina with an apologetic look.

"I don't blame you," Reina whispered.

"Wisel absorb Nitro Warrior!" the tendrils grabbed hold of Nitro Warrior. The Warrior struggled only to be pulled back into the Machine Emperor's chest. (ATK 2500-5300/DEF 0)

"Wisel attack…!" Coby cried.

Reina scowled. And part of her hoped he would attack Unicycular because if he did it would make that she was planning much easier.

"Attack her pathetic excuse for a robot!" Wisel drove its blade into Unicycular's chest and the smaller Machine exploded.

"And don't forget my Infinite Wrath is still on the field," Coby snickered as the blast from Wisel struck Reina.

**(Reina: 1600 – SPC: 2) - (Coby: 7700 – SPC: 8)**

Right now Reina wished the duel would just end, mainly so the pain and terror would stop. "Maybe you should just give up!" Coby taunted.

Reina scowled. He was right, she was way behind and her plan might not even work, and even if it did he'd likely summon Wisel back.

"Well hurry up and surrender so I can move on!" Coby sneered.

"W…w…what do you mean?" Reina asked.

"When I finish you I'm hunting down your friends and Joshua Atlas next!" Coby replied.

Reina snarled and the fire inside of her ignited again. "Like Hell you are!" she roared. "You'll hurt my friends over my cold lifeless body, and I'm the only person who's allowed to defeat Josh!"

"Well that is the plan," Coby smirked. "I'll set a card faced down and then I'll activate Speed Spell – Angelic Assistance, so now I get to draw three cards!"

"Then I'll set another card face down and end my turn!" he smirked.

**(Reina: 1600 – SPC: 3) - (Coby: 7700 – SPC: 9)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" Reina shouted. She pulled two cards off the top of her Deck and then threw one into her Graveyard.

"Then I'll follow that by activating my Speed Spell – Discard Transaction, I can only activate it while I have two or more Speed Counters, luckily I do, now we both have an choice we can discard any number of cards and then draw cards equal to the number of cards we drew, plus one extra!" Reina explained. "So my whole had has got to go!" she slid her other cards into the Graveyard and pulled three card off her Deck then one extra.

Coby looked at the cards in his hand. "No I'll keep what I have," he muttered.

"Fine by me because I'm summoning Junk Synchron!" from the portal jumped the small Warrior Synchron monster. It gestured and a portal opened up next to it. (ATK 1300/DEF 500)

"Now thanks to my little buddy's effect I can revive the Tuningware I dumped into my Graveyard!" from the portal jumped the small robot with the wok on its head. (ATK 100/DEF 300)

"And I'm not done yet!" Reina cried. She looked at the card she was about to use, it was one she treasured above all else, save for Stardust and Black Rose Dragon. "Since I've already Normal Summoned I can call out a gift from a friend, Turbo Booster!" the latest monster to appear was yellow robot with rocket boosters for arms. (ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Ok its time for another Synchro Summon, I'm tuning my level , three Junk Synchro my level two, Speed Warrior and both my level one, Tuningware and Turbo Booster…," she began.

"_The roar of these clustering shouts will launch the arrow that will split the air! Become the path light is born upon, Synchro Summon! Come on, Junk Archer!"_

Junk Synchron pulled its ripcord and flew forward. It became three rings, all of which covered the three other monsters. They vanished and the stars aligned causing a bright flash of light.

The monster that appeared wore mostly orange armor with an elongated mask covering its face. Only one of the creature's eyes was visible. On the Warrior's left arm was a bow made of green metal. (ATK 2300/DEF 2000)

"And how exactly is that puny monster, a Synchro monster at that going to over power my mighty Wisel!" Coby laughed.

"Using his special effect," Reina smirked. "Once per turn I can until the End Phase remove one of your monsters from play, so Junk Archer free Nitro Warrior with your Dimension Arrow!" Junk Archer fired a single arrow, but instead of striking Wisel it passed clean through the Machine Emperor but moments later Wisel vanished into motes of light. Then seconds later the other parts exploded.

"I'm starting to love doing that," Reina chuckled. "With Wisel gone, not only is Nitro Warrior free but you're wide open, Junk Archer attack him directly with Scarp Arrow!" Junk Archer fired another missile at Coby. It whizzed by him leaving a noticeable scratch on his cheek.

**(Reina: 1600 – SPC: 3) - (Coby: 5400 – SPC: 7)**

"Damn you!" Coby snarled. "You may have temporarily gotten rid of Wisel but it'll be back!"

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Reina smirked. "Do your worst!" she taunted as the now weakened Machine monster returned.

Coby drew and chuckled. "I activate Machine Emperor Reassembly!" the infinity Symbol on Wisel's chest began to glow and the other four pieces reappeared and joined with Wisel. (ATK 0-2500/DEF 0)

**(Reina: 1600 – SPC: 4) - (Coby: 5400 – SPC: 8)**

"This card allows me to Special Summon the four parts of any Machine Emperor in my Graveyard, of course the main body must be on the field," Coby explained. "Wisel take her Junk Archer!" no matter how hard it struggled Junk Archer like Nitro Warrior was captured. (ATK 2500-4800/DEF 0)

"Wisel attack her directly and end this!" Wisel flew forward its blade raised, and just as it was about to stab into Reina's Runner her face down card flipped up.

"I activate my face down card Limit Reverse!" from the ground appeared a large stone creature with four legs and arms carrying a helipad. (ATK 600/DEF 1200) "It allows me to revive a monster with 1000 or less attack points like my Fortress Warrior, only it can't move to defense mode."

"It doesn't matter Wisel kill her Warrior!" Wisel tried to slash Fortress Warrior only for the stone Warrior to block with the helipad.

"Sorry but once per turn Fortress Warrior isn't destroyed," Reina grinned. "And I receive no battle damage from a battle involving this guy."

"Fine I'll move to my second Main Phase and activate Speed Spell – Infinite Superiority! A blast of energy shot of the card and vaporized Reina's Fortress Warrior. "This Speed Spell can only be activated while I have seven Speed Counters and an Infinity monster on the field, all non-Machine types die!"

"Now I'll end my turn with two face down cards," Coby smirked.

**(Reina: 1600 – SPC: 5) - (Coby: 5400 – SPC: 9)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Magical Energy Gain!" Reina's useless Call of the Haunted dissolved into motes of light that surrounded Reina. "This card is just like Emergency Provisions, only I have to have three or more Speed Counters to activate it."

**(Reina: 2600 – SPC: 5) - (Coby: 5400 – SPC: 9)**

"Now I'll activate Speed Spell – Overwhelming Disadvantage! This card allows me to draw cards equal to the difference in the number of monsters we control, so I draw five!" Reina pulled five cards off the top of her Deck and grinned.

"I'll set two cards face down and that's all I can do," she said.

**(Reina: 2600 – SPC: 6) - (Coby: 5400 – SPC: 10)**

"I'll start this turn off by activating another Angelic Assistance then I'll follow that with both my face down cards Wise A3 and Wise T3, now I can release Wisel Attack and Wisel Top to summon their upgraded forms!" Coby laughed at Wisel Attack and Wisel Top vanished.

From the two Trap cards appeared a monster each. The first one looked much like Wisel Attack but the blade attached to it looked different. (ATK 1600/DEF 0) It joined with Wisel and the blade jutted forward, it looked like a horrible combination between an axe and a sword. (ATK 4800-5200/DEF 0)

The other monster looked kind of like some kind of mechanical bug, or maybe a mechanical rabbit. (ATK 600/DEF 0) It linked up with the top of Wisel becoming the head. (ATK 5200-5300/DEF 0)

"Wisel end this with a direct attack!" Wisel lifted its new arm and swung at Reina.

"I Special Summon Battle Fader!" Reina cried. A Fiend with an X shaped body with a bell and a pendulum attached floated onto the field. (ATK 0/DEF 0) The pendulum smacked into the bell causing a blast of sound waves to assault Wisel, the Machine Emperor backed off. "Thanks to my Battle Fader, and Zeke for giving it to me, I can Special Summon it when you declare a direct attack, and then the Battle Phase is ended."

"Hmph I don't see why you continue to fight, Wisel is unbeatable!" Coby laughed.

"Nothing is unbeatable, even the mighty Exodia could be defeated!" Reina snapped.

"It doesn't matter, I'll end my turn," Coby said.

"_Ok everything rides on this next draw,"_ Reina thought looking at her Deck. _"Dad I hope you're right, because right now I couldn't believe in my Deck anymore!"_

Reina tore the top card off her Deck, but was too terrified to look at it.

**(Reina: 2600 – SPC: 7) - (Coby: 5400 – SPC: 11)**

Reina looked at the card and smiled. _"Well I guess dad is absolutely right!"_ she thought. "Hey Coby are you ready to lose, because I just drew the card that'll destroy Wisel for the final time!"

"You're bluffing!" Coby sneered. "Nothing you can play will stop Wisel, you should realize by now the only thing that's going to happen is you're going to die!"

"I activate my most powerful Speed Spell – Power Flux!" the card appeared and it showed Great Maju Garzett being torn apart by a blast of energy. "This card destroys any monster on the field whose current attack points are higher than its original attack points, and I need six Speed Counters to activate it!"

"Too bad that won't be happening," Coby sneered. "I activate Wisel Top 3's effect and negate and destroy your Spell card!" Wisel's eyes glowed and sparks crackled over the Spell card.

Reina smirked as the sparks faded but a blast of energy fired from the Spell. It struck Wisel in the chest and then it along with its parts exploded. "That's impossible my monster's effect negated that card!" Coby snarled.

"Well that's the thing," Reina grinned. "If my Speed Counters are lower than yours then Power Flux cannot be negated, period!"

"No!" Coby cried. "This can't be happening I can't lose I have Wisel!"

"I'm not done yet!" Reina declared. "I activate my Speed Spell – Dead Synchron! Now I can remove from my Graveyard Synchro Material monsters listed a Synchro monster and then I Special Summon that monster from my Extra Deck, catch is it'll be removed during the End Phase, but there isn't going to be an End Phase!"

"I remove my level five, Quickdraw Synchron and my level one, Turbo Booster….,"

"_Clustering bonds will weave a path for this Warrior of justice to fly along! Became the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon, and charge forward, Turbo Warrior!"_

Quickdraw Synchron and Turbo Booster appeared. Quickdraw became five Synchro gates and Turbo Booster flew into them, it became see-through. From the flash of light emerged the red armored Warrior with the punk style 'hair'. (ATK 2500/DEF 1500)

"Ha that thing won't even come close to beating me!" Coby smirked.

"You seem to forget I played two cards face down last turn," Reina smirked. "First I activate Synchro Baton, so my Turbo Warrior gains 600 attack points for every Synchro monster in my Graveyard and I have two!" the spirits of Nitro Warrior and Junk Archer appeared and phased into Turbo Warrior. (ATK 2500-3700/DEF 1500)

"Next I'll activate my other face down card, Synchro Strike!" she shouted. "So since Turbo Warrior counts as being Synchro Summoned it gains 500 attack points for every Synchro Material monster I used for it, and I used two!" a burning red around surrounded Turbo Warrior. (ATK 3700-4700/DEF 1500)

"Now I remove my Skill Successor from my Graveyard to give Turbo Warrior 800 extra attack points!" the aura around Turbo Warrior intensified. (ATK 4700-5500/DEF 1500)

"Turbo Warrior end this with Maximum Accel Slash!" Turbo Warrior flew forward at a blistering speed and slashed the front of Coby's bike with such force he started to spin out of control.

**(Reina: 2600 – SPC: 7) - (Coby: 0 – SPC: 11)**

"No this is impossible Archer promised me that I couldn't lose if I had Wisel!" Coby roared. He was so enraged he failed to notice that his Graveyard started to glow.

Above him appeared Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity, in its original form. It looked down at Coby with the same hate it had shown before. Coby looked up and his face started to go very pale. "No stay away!" he screamed.

Wisel ignored him and slowly reached down to grab the hapless Turbo duelist. "Turbo Warrior stop that thing!" Reina cried. Turbo Warrior flew at Wisel only to be swatted aside. Reina barely avoided her monster smashing into her.

Reina closed her eyes and tried to ignore the cries of terror and pain from Coby. After a second they stopped. Reina slowed her bike to a halt and walked over to the remains of Coby's bike. He was lying on the ground but Reina couldn't bear to look.

She bowed her head. "No one deserves that kind of end," she whispered.

The sound of an approaching Runner caught her attention. A familiar red Duel Runner pulled up near Reina. Her parents jumped off and ran over to their daughter.

"Reina sweetie, are you alright!" Akiza asked hugging her daughter.

"I'm alright right, by comparison to my opponent," Reina muttered. "But why were you riding with dad?"

"Someone slashed both of our tires and two of the extra sets," Akiza sighed. "Luckily your father has a third extra set for emergencies."

Yusei walked up to his wife and daughter. "How are you feeling Reina?" he asked.

"I'm fine dad," Reina said. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm sad that jerk got killed by Wisel, but why'd that happen?"

"Wisel and the other two Machine Emperor cards are powerful and seem to have minds of their own," Yusei muttered. "The only ones who could properly control them were the three from Yliaster."

Yusei produced a lighter from his pocket and threw Coby's Deck on the ground. He put the lighter to the cards and they quickly caught fire.

"Archer more insane than I first thought," Reina murmured. "If he can recreate Wisel what else can he recreate?"

Archer's office same time

Archer had been watching the whole duel using the various security cameras on the highway and the chip planted in Coby's Runner. He sighed and laced his fingers together. "Well that was a spectacular failure. I not only lost the Wisel cards I lost a duelist and due to Wisel's interference I didn't even gain any souls from the duels Coby was in, I'd best halt my plans to recreate any other cards of extreme power, especially the Earthbound Immortals."

**Zeke: Archer actually managed to recreate Wisel!**

**Vincent: And Coby was quite good with those evil cards.**

**Josh: Yes Reina managed to get Wisel out of the way three times.**

**Rob: But in the end it blew up in Coby's face.**

**Reina: Next Rob faces an opponent his father never got a chance to face, can he win?**

**Melissa: Don't miss Mythical Battle.**

**Original Cards**

Extra Bomb

Image: A bomb attached to the back of a duelist's Duel Disk. (The duelist looks a lot like Jaden Yuki.)

| Continuous Trap | Activate only during your opponent's Main or Draw Phase while they do not control a Synchro or Fusion monster. If they do not Fusion or Synchro Summon during this turn they receive 200 points of damage for every card in their Extra Deck. If they manage to Synchro Summon before their Main Phase two ends they gain 200 Life Points for every monster in their Extra Deck.

Wise Core

Dark | Level 1 | Machine/Effect | 0/0 | When this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, destroy all monsters you control, then Special Summon 1 each of "Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity", "Wisel Top", "Wisel Attack", "Wisel Guard", and "Wisel Carrier" from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard.

Spark Breaker

Image: Mechanicalchaser and Brave Scizzar being struck by lightning

| Trap | Select 1 face-up monster you control. Destroy all face-up monsters on the field with the same name as the selected monster's.

Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity

Dark | Level 1 | Machine/Effect | 0/0 | Other monsters you control cannot attack. Once per turn, you can equip 1 Synchro Monster your opponent controls to this card. This card gains ATK equal to both the total ATK of monsters equipped to this card by its own effect and the total ATK of all other "Wisel", "Grannel", and "Skiel" monsters you control. When this card is destroyed, destroy all monsters you control.

Wisel Top

Earth | Level 1 | Machine/Effect | 500/0 | Destroy this card if you do not control an "Infinity" monster.

Wisel Attack

Earth | Level 1 | Machine/Effect | 1200/0 | Destroy this card if you do not control an "Infinity" monster.

Wisel Guard

Earth | Level 1 | Machine/Effect | 0/1200 | Destroy this card if you do not control an "Infinity" monster. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can switch the attack target to this card instead.

Wisel Carrier

Earth | Level 1 | Machine/Effect | 800/600 | Destroy this card if you do not control an "Infinity" monster. This card cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects.

(The above seven cards were first used by the Riding Roid called Ghost during Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 65 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode, they rightfully belong to Placido.)

Infinite Wrath

Image: A blast of energy shaped like Stardust Dragon being fried from Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity and striking a duelist on a red Duel Runner.

| Continuous Trap | Whenever an 'Infinity' monster equipped with a Synchro monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle. Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the level of the equipped Synchro monster times 200.

Stolen Fury

Image: A blast of energy shaped like Ancient Fairy Dragon being fired from Machine Emperor Skiel Infinity at a duelist who ressembles Luna.

| Trap | Activate this card only while you control an 'Infinity' monster equipped with a Synchro monster. Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the equipped monster's attack points.

Speed Spell – Trap Launcher

Image: A catapult firing a Mirror Force card onto a Duel Runner track.

| Quick-Play Spell | Activate while you have 4 or more Speed Counters. You may activate one Trap card from your hand.

Synchro Devourer

Dark | Level 4 | Fiend/Effect | 1800/1600 | If this card battles a Synchro monster that monster's attack points become 0, during the damage step only.

Bomb Blast

Image: D.D. Scout Plane on fire flying across a grid.

| Trap | Destroy this card if you do not control an "Infinity" monster. This card cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects.

(This card was first used by Placido during Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 108 creative credit goes to the writers of those episodes.)

Speed Spell – Discard Transaction

Image: A Turbo Duelist sliding three cards into the Graveyard and four cards popping off the top of their Deck.

| Spell | Activate while you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Both duelists may discard any number of cards from their hands to the Graveyard. (They may choose not to discard any cards.) For every card discarded draw one card then draw one, once the full number of cards is drawn draw one extra card.

Machine Emperor Reassembly

Image: Machine Emperor floating over the wreckage of its pieces and the pieces are starting to float upwards.

| Trap | Activate while the only card you control is an 'Infinity' monster. Special Summon from your Graveyard one 'Attack', 'Guard', 'Top' and 'Carrier' monster from your Graveyard.

Speed Spell – Infinite Superiority

Image: Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity crushing Sonic Chick.

| Spell | Activate while you have 7 or more Speed Counters and control an 'Infinity' monster. Destroy all non-Machine type monsters on the field.

Speed Spell – Magical Energy Gain

Image: DNA Transplant dissolving into grains of light and flowing into a Duel Runner.

| Quick-Play Spell | Activate while you have 3 or more Speed Counters. Send any number of Spell or Trap cards on your side of the field to the Graveyard to gain 1000 Life Points per card.

Speed Spell – Overwhelming Disadvantage

Image: A Turbo Duelist being attacked by five monsters.

| Spell | Activate while you have 4 or more Speed Counters. If you control less monsters than your opponent draw one card for every extra monster your opponent

Wise A3

Image: Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity with Wisel Attack 3 attached to it.

| Trap | Tribute 1 "Wisel Attack". Special Summon 1 "Wisel Attack 3" from your hand.

(This card was first used by Ghost in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 66, creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Wise T3

Image: Wisel Top 3 surrounded by a green aura.

| Trap | Tribute 1 "Wisel Top". Special Summon 1 "Wisel Top 3" from your hand.

(This card was first used by Placido in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 109, creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Wisel Attack 3

Dark | Level 3 | Machine/Effect | 1600/0 | Destroy this card if you do not control an "Infinity" monster. When an "Infinity" monster you control attacks an opponent's Defense Position monster with a lower DEF than the ATK of the attacking monster, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent.

(This card was first used by Ghost in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 66 creative credit goes to the writer's of that episode. Note: It was originally along with Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity an Earth monster.)

Wisel Top 3

Earth | Level 3 | Machine/Effect | 600/0 | Destroy this card if you do not control an "Infinity" monster. Once per turn, you can negate the activation of a Spell or Trap Card and destroy it.

(This card was first used by Placido in Yu-gi-oh 5D's episode 109, creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Speed Spell – Power Flux

Image: Great Maju Garzett being torn apart by a blast of energy.

| Spell | Activate while you have six or more Speed Counters. All monsters on the field whose current attack points are higher than their original attack points are destroyed. If your Speed Counters are lower than your opponent's this card cannot be negated.

Speed Spell – Dead Synchron

Image: Eight stars floating above a Fiend monster rising out of the ground.

| Spell | Destroy this card if you do not control an "Infinity" monster. Once per turn, you can negate the activation of a Spell or Trap Card and destroy it.

(This card was first used by Yusei in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 90 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Synchro Baton

Image: Brionac and Gungnir, Dragons of the Ice Barrier behind Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier.

| Trap |Select 1 face-up Synchro Monster you control. It gains 600 ATK for each Synchro Monster in your Graveyard.

(This card was first used by Yusei in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 64, creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)


	26. Ch26: Mythical Battle

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twenty-Six: Mythical Battle

While Reina was just nearing the end of her face off against Coby and Wisel, Solo was finishing a duel, despite not being in the tournament anymore. He'd taken it upon himself to eliminate as many of Archer's goon as possible.

Right now he was actually losing. He and his opponent were dueling on top of a skyscraper and he was Lone Fighter with no equip cards and no power bonus and four cards in his hand and a single face down card and a mere 800 Life Points. His opponent has Ruin, Queen of Oblivion powered up my Luminous Spark and Cestus of Dagla, no face down cards and 2000 Life Points.

"Ha looks like your days of pestering Master Archer are finished you cosplayer!" Solo's opponent laughed.

"Ok that its!" Solo snarled. "You've called me cosplayer twenty times, now I'm PISSED!"

"I'm going to activate Pot of Greed," Solo said playing a very common card. He tore two cards off the top of his Deck and smirked. "Well I guess it's true what they say, greed is good!"

"Now I'm going to equip myself with Megamorph and since my Life Points are lower than yours I have my original attack points doubled!" a strange looking seal appeared on Solo's chest. He started to glow and his attack points shot up to 2400.

"You're still too weak to beat my Ruin," the person sneered. "Why don't you just surrender?"

"Because unless my employer orders me to, I never surrender, I'd rather die than give up!" Solo roared. "Now I'm going to activate Pump Up!" energy crackled around Solo and his attack points flew up to 4800. "Thanks to this card's power my attack points are doubled until the End Phase!"

"And I'm not done yet," he said with a nasty grin. "I activate Double Shot Pistols, so now I'm free to attack twice!" the twin guns appeared on his hips and his attack points rose slightly to 5200.

"This is the end," Solo flew at Ruin and grabbed her by the throat. "Abomination of the Higher Plane, die!" there was an audible crush and Ruin fell limp and disappeared.

Solo's opponent's plunged down to a paltry 100 and Solo's attack points fell to 2800. "My Life Points may be higher, if only slightly, but I still have more than enough to finish you!" Solo punched his opponent in the stomach, they groaned and toppled over as their Life Points dropped to zero.

They closed their eyes and started to shiver. Then they opened them again. "Huh, what gives, shouldn't I be out one soul?"

Solo stomped over to them and grabbed them by the collar and lifted them up. "My employer is extremely powerful, so you have a few minutes, now I want some information!"

"What makes you think I'll tell you anything?" the person asked.

Solo walked over to the edge of the building and dangled the person over the brink of certain death. "Simple tell me, or you'll be dead before the spell wears off!"

The person looked down and gulped. It was at least a twenty story drop, they'd definitely be killed. "Ha you won't do it, heroes can't kill villains, it goes against the good guy code!" the person sneered.

Solo smirked and let the person go. They screamed and dropped down only to be caught my Solo a second later. "Now tell me what I want to know, or they'll be scraping you off the pavement!" he snarled.

"Ok, ok I'll tell you whatever you want to know just don't kill me!" the person begged.

"Good and next time don't assume I won't kill you," Solo growled. "I do whatever benefits me and if you can't or won't give me information you're of no use to me."

"Well I have not clue where he keep the Avatar but the Eraser and Dreadroot are with his top duelists, one uses a Fiend Deck the other uses a Zombie Deck," the person said with tears pour down their cheeks.

"Is that all you know, if you're withholding information you've got a long way down!" Solo growled and the person shook their head. "Good now you're of no use to me."

The person screamed and fainted and Solo chuckled. "I love doing that," he chuckled throwing the person behind him. The fog reappeared ands covered the unconscious body for a second.

"But now I've got to find those two duelists and defeat them," he mused. "The only problem is I forgot to ask him what kind of Fiends."

Several minutes later

One of our heroes was currently walking into a restaurant hoping to buy lunch. It was Burger World, an establishment that had been around since when Yugi Muto was a teenager.

Rob pulled his Runner up to the eatery and set the lock then disengaged the Duel Disk and chained it to a near by post. He walked into the restaurant and ordered a cheese burger, fries and a large orange soda.

He sat down at started to eat. _"I have to be careful, not only is that Talia girl out there with a Wicked God but I'd bet someone else has the other one,"_ the thought as he bit into his burger.

A few minutes later the door of the restaurant flew open and a boy walked in. He was dressed in a blue bodysuit with silver shoulder guards. He carried his helmet under his arm. His hair was light brown and slicked back with a few strands over his forehead.

"Hello everyone!" he called in a very cheerful voice. "Has anyone seen a guy named Robert Hogan?"

"That's me!" Rob shouted.

"Well nice to meet you bro," the guy said. "If you're done eating I'd like to challenge you to a Turbo Duel."

Rob grinned. "I'm done and it would be a pleasure to kick your butt!" Rob declared. He disposed of what was left of his meal, which in terms of food was nothing.

He and guy walked outside. And parked next to Rob's Runner was a bike what for the most part was dark blue. It was designed to look like some kind of Dragon. "Cool Runner," Rob grinned.

"Thank you my sensei helped me design and build it," the guy grinned. "Oh yes before I totally forget my name is Eric Becker."

"Well you know who I am so let's get to dueling!" Rob grinned jumping on his Runner.

Both duelist pulled away from the restaurant and drove onto the highway. They both pressed button on their Runner's consoles and a single card appeared on the screen. _"Duel mode engaged auto-pilot disabled."_ The computers both said.

**(Rob: 8000 – SPC: 0) - (Eric: 8000 – SPC: 0)**

"Since you were so eager to duel me, I'll let you make the first move," Rob said.

"Thanks, bro," Eric said. "I'll just set a monster and card, face down and turn it over to you."

**(Rob: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Eric: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

"Since you control a monster and I control none I can call out Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn!" the large blue and brown plumed bird-man flew out onto the field. (ATK 2000/DEF 900)

"Sirocco attack his face down monster with Dark Slash!" Sirocco flew forward and slashed at the monster which appeared to be a turtle of some kind with a metal saucer shaped shell.

"That was my UFO Turtle and since he bit the big one, I can call out a weak Fire monster from my Deck!" a portal opened up next to Eric's bike and a small creature jumped out. It was a lizard with red scale, it had two small horns and the tip of its tail was on fire. (ATK 950/DEF 800)

"Ok what is that thing?" Rob asked.

"That would be my Ancient Lizard – Ruby LV2," Eric grinned. "I don't exactly use the same type of cards as my sensei but the cards I use are deadly!"

"Ok care to explain who your sensei is?" Rob inquired.

"His name is…Jean!" Eric laughed as a drop of sweat rolled down Rob's head.

"Wait as in the guy from Team Unicorn!" Rob gasped. "He was your sensei!"

"Yes, he schooled me in dueling and because of him I became the duelist I am today!" Eric grinned. "I wanted to face you Rob, because none of the member of Team Unicorn ever got to face your father."

"No, Reina's dad beat all three of them," Rob sighed. "Though to be fair he more or less had some help from Jack and Reina's mother, but in the end horn head lost."

"Yes but because of Team Catastrophe's influence both your father, Jean-sensei and Andore were badly injured and Breo couldn't continue on his own!" Eric growled. "But that's in the past, so I wanted to face off against the son of the only member of Team 5D's my teacher and his friends never got to face!"

"Now I now get you," Rob said. "I'll gladly take you on, me and the Blackwings will show you our power!"

"But for now I'll end my turn by setting two cards face down!"

**(Rob: 8000 – SPC: 2) - (Eric: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"Since it's my Standby Phase my Ruby evolves into his next form!" the small lizard growled and it was covered in fire. The fire started to warp and shift, and when it was extinguished Ancient Lizard – Ruby LV2 was gone.

"Meet Ruby's level four form!" the new monster snarled at Sirocco. It was several times later than its last form. It has fire around its neck, and ankles as well as on the tip of its tail. Its eyes glowed bright red. (ATK 1950/DEF 1700)

"Whoa quite the growth spurt," Rob muttered.

"Yep and I'm going to make sure he continues to grow up!" Eric shouted. "I activate Speed Spell – Speed Energy!" energy began to seep off the road and onto Ruby causing him to grow larger. (ATK 1950-2350/DEF 1700) "This card gives Ruby 200 extra attack points for every Speed Counter I have."

"I'm not done yet!" he grinned. "I summon Ancient Lizard – Emerald LV3!" in a blast of wind appeared another small lizard. It had small wings on its back and shiny green skin. (ATK 1000/DEF 600)

"Ruby attack his Sirocco with Ruby Flare!" the fiery lizard growled and breathed a stream of crimson flames.

"Hold on I activate Sakuretsu Armor!" Rob cried. The hideous Fiend appeared and jumped at Ruby.

Ruby snarled and slashed the Fiend shattering it. "Sorry bro, I should've mentioned Ruby can't be destroyed by Trap cards that target," the fired continued and engulfed Sirocco.

**(Rob: 7650 – SPC: 2) - (Eric: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"And my Battle Phase continues with Emerald making a direct attack!" the smaller lizard growled and coated its body in green fire. It jumped and smacked into Rob's bike.

**(Rob: 6650 – SPC: 1) - (Eric: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"Well that was only slightly unpleasant," Rob muttered.

"It's about to get more unpleasant," Eric grinned. "Since Ruby destroyed one of your monsters by battle during the End Phase he evolves into his level six form!" the red scaled lizard roared as its body was again covered by fire.

The flames scattered and Ruby had grown again. He was now as large as most mid-level Dragon monsters and flames covered his back and also formed a mane. Ruby roared and looked at Rob the way most kids looked at candy. (ATK 2450/DEF 2200)

"Now I end my turn," Eric said. "I should inform you that since Emerald managed to make a direct attack you can only activate one Spell card this next turn."

"Ok that's not that bad," Rob said. "It would be worse in a regular duel."

**(Rob: 6650 – SPC: 2) - (Eric: 8000 – SPC: 3)**

"I summon Bora the Spear!" from the portal flew Bora his lance raised and his grin as crazy looking as ever. (ATK 1700/DEF 800)

"Bora destroy Emerald with Death Spiral!" flew chuckled and flew into the air and dove towards Emerald.

"I activate Level Defense!" Eric cried. "As long as this remains face up on the field you must attack the strong LV monster I have, and it isn't Emerald!"

Bora stopped in mid-air and flew at Ruby. "I guess I have no choice!" shouted Rob. "I discard my Kalut the Moon Shadow to power up Bora by 1400 attack points!" the spectral bird appeared and fused with Bora. (ATK 1700-3100/DEF 800)

Bora drove his lance into the fire Reptile's chest causing it to scream in pain and shatter.

**(Rob: 6650 – SPC: 2) - (Eric: 7350 – SPC: 3)**

"Not a bad counter bro," Eric grinned. "But is that all you're going to do?"

Rob looked at his hand. "For now yes, but I have only begun to fight!" (ATK 3100-1700/DEF 800)

**(Rob: 6650 – SPC: 3) - (Eric: 7350 – SPC: 4)**

"Now Emerald evolves to his LV5 form!" a cyclone surrounded Emerald. It died down after a minute and Emerald had like Ruby been altered. Its wings now looked capable of flight and it had a horn growing from its nose. (ATK 2300/DEF 1800)

"Emerald attack his Bora with Burning Cyclone!" Emerald fired a spiralling blast of fire from its jaw. Bora screamed as he was consumed.

**(Rob: 6650 – SPC: 3) - (Eric: 7350 – SPC: 4)**

"Now I'll end my turn with a single face down card!" Eric said.

**(Rob: 6650 – SPC: 4) - (Eric: 7350 – SPC: 5)**

Rob drew and grinned. "I activate my face down card Raigeki Break!" a bolt of red lightning shot out of the card and vaporized Emerald.

"Huh why didn't you activate that when I attacked?" Eric asked.

"Simple really," Rob grinned sliding Vayu into his Graveyard. "I didn't have a card I was willing to discard, I hope Bora understands."

"Now since I control absolutely no cards I can call out one of the newest members of my team!" he shouted. "Blackwing – Gust the Backblast!" a powerful wind kicked up and a humanoid bird-man appeared, his feathers were mostly feathers were mostly dark blue and green. (ATK 900/DEF 1400)

"Now since that was a Special Summon I can bring back Blizzard the Far North!" the seagull like bird flew out and landed on the front of Rob's bike. He pecked at the Graveyard and Bora's card fell out. (ATK 1300/DEF 0)

"Now thanks to Blizzard's effect I can revive Bora!" Bora flew onto the field and covered himself with his wings.

"Ok its time to Synchro Summon!" Rob shouted. "I tune my level two, Blizzard the Far North, my level two Gust the Backblast and my level four Bora the Spear…,"

"_A choking dark fog blankets the battlefield, and none are safe from its deadly effect! Synchro Summon, and spread your wings, Dark End Dragon!"_

Blizzard split becoming two green rings. They covered Gust and Bora reducing them to framework. The fog slowly descended onto the field and Dark End Dragon appeared on the field from the fog. (ATK 2600/DEF 2100)

"Dark End attack him directly with your Dark Fog!" Dark End Dragon breathed the poison fog and Eric coughed as his bike slowed down.

**(Rob: 6650 – SPC: 4) - (Eric: 4750 – SPC: 3)**

"Well that stunk," Eric coughed. "But it kind of explains why Ener-D replaced fossil fuels."

"I'm guessing that the whole helping the environment deal was another big one on the scientists' list," Rob said. "Now I'll end my turn with a single card face down."

**(Rob: 6650 – SPC: 5) - (Eric: 4750 – SPC: 4)**

"I must admit bro, that was an excellent combo but Ruby will now be making a return appearance, reveal face down card Call of the Haunted!" the ground exploded and Ruby appeared. He looked at Rob and snarled.

"Now I'm going to activate a handy Speed Spell my Deck couldn't do without!" he threw a Spell card into his Duel Runner's console. "I activate Speed Spell – Level Jump!" a blast of energy struck Ruby and the Reptile snarled as its body was once again coated in flames.

"But that's not all!" he declared. "I'm also chaining my Speed Spell – Magical Energy Drain and getting rid of my Level Defense, Call of the Haunted and Level Jump!" the cards all dissolved into grains of light that flew into Eric's bike.

**(Rob: 6650 – SPC: 5) - (Eric: 7750 – SPC: 4)**

A thunderous roar caused the flames to scatter in every direction. Ruby had totally changed. He looked more like a Dragon than a Reptile, with huge wings made of flames and his hands and feet were covered in fire, a line of flames ran from the back of his head to the end of his tail. (ATK 2950/DEF 2000)

"Awww all that work down the drain, and then some," Rob groaned.

"I have worse new bro," Eric smirked. "Ruby's effect has done a one-eighty heel turn and is now offensive instead of defensive. I can ditch a Trap card and then force one of your monsters to defend, oh and bro I'd cover your neck when I do this."

"Why would I do that?" Rob asked just as Eric threw the Trap card into the Graveyard. A pair of hands reached out of Rob's Graveyard and grabbed his neck and started to throttle him.

**(Rob: 5050 – SPC: 4) - (Eric: 7750 – SPC: 4)**

"Ugh well that hurt a little bit," Rob groaned as Dark End Dragon shielded itself with its wings. "It mostly hurt my pride."

"Sorry bro, I tried to warn you that was my Grip of Despair and it activates when I send it to the Graveyard and then you take damage equal to the level of your strongest monster times 200," Eric chuckled rubbing the back of his head. "But right now I'll activate Speed Spell – Angelic Assistance and I get to draw three cards!"

"Without further adieu, Ruby attack his Dragon with Ruby Firestorm!" Ruby roared with bloodlust and breathed a blast of crimson flames. Dark End Dragon howled in pain and shattered.

**(Rob: 4200 – SPC: 4) - (Eric: 7750 – SPC: 4)**

"Ok any other surprises for me?" Rob asked sarcastically.

Eric grinned and set a single card face down. And then signalled he was ending his turn.

**(Rob: 4200 – SPC: 5) - (Eric: 7750 – SPC: 5)**

"_Ok just when did I lose control here?"_ Rob asked himself.

"I'll set a monster and another card face down and that's all I have," he sighed.

**(Rob: 4200 – SPC: 6) - (Eric: 7750 – SPC: 6)**

"I'm going to summon Ancient Lizard – Topaz LV4!" in a burst of light another small lizard monster appeared. This one was yellow and had spikes running along its back. (ATK 1600/DEF 1100)

"Ruby sic him!" Ruby snarled and fired another burst of flames. They smashed into Mistral reducing the hapless Winged-Beast to ashes.

"I activate Defense Draw, so the damage from that battle is reduced to zero and I get to draw one card, obviously," Rob said.

"Topaz attack him directly with Topaz Cutter!" Topaz curled into a ball and flew forward like a circular saw.

"I activate the card I just set!" Rob cried. "A deadly Trap card called Blackwing – Backlash!" the spirits of Bora, Gust, Blizzard, Sirocco, Vayu and Mistral appeared. They flew forward and pushed back the flames then they turned into balls of black light and flew into Ruby and Topaz causing both monsters to shatter.

"What in the Hell just happened!" Eric exclaimed.

"Not much really," Rob smirked. "But that would be the effect of my most powerful Trap card, since you declared a direct attack my slain Blackwings, who had to number five or higher got some vengeance my smashing all of your monsters to powder!"

"That was a very wordy explanation," Eric said. "And I'll activate my Trap card Comparative Value!" the Trap card started to glow and Topaz reappeared. "Since one or more of my Ancient Lizards died this turn I can Special Summon one of them back, sadly Ruby was a NOMI."

"Topaz attack him directly with Topaz Cutter!" Topaz spun again and flew at Rob. But just as the Reptile was about to hit Mistral appeared and blocked the hit.

"What happened now?" Eric demanded.

"That would be Mistral," Rob said. "Since he went to the Graveyard because of battle, the damage from your next attack was reduced down to zero."

"So the attack was technically successful and that means Topaz can evolve come my End Phase!" Eric declared. "And after setting a card face down I'll end my turn," Topaz hissed as it was enveloped by light. The light shifted and changed shape allowing Topaz to assume its new form.

It was now much bigger and looked very Dragon-like. The yellow spikes on its back had become large yellow blades, it wore a crystalline helmet and on its legs were metal bracers with large yellow gems attached. (ATK 2300/DEF 1700)

"And I wouldn't try that trick with Mistral again because Topaz negate the effect of any monster it destroys," Eric explained.

**(Rob: 4200 – SPC: 7) - (Eric: 7750 – SPC: 7)**

"Ok I'm going to summon Shura the Blue Flame!" in a burst of burning feathers the thin Winged-Beast appeared, he glared at Eric. (ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"Now I'm going to Special Summon the ever faithful Gale the Whirlwind!" from the spiral of feathers Gale flew into the air. (ATK 1300/DEF 400)

"Gale I activate your effect so halve his Topaz's stats!" Gale fired the barrage of wind blades and Topaz cried out in pain. (ATK 2300-1150/DEF 1700-850)

"Gale attack Topaz with your Dark Wind Blades!" Gale started to flap his wings and fired another barrage of sharp wind, this time Topaz was cut to pieces.

**(Rob: 4200 – SPC: 7) - (Eric: 7600 – SPC: 7)**

"Shura hit him directly with Blue Flame Slash!" Shura launched himself forward and scratched the front of Eric's bike.

**(Rob: 4200 – SPC: 7) - (Eric: 5800 – SPC: 6)**

"Now I'll activate my face down card Urgent Tuning!" Rob shouted. "Now I can Synchro Summon during my Battle Phase. So I'll tune my level three, Gale and my level four, Shura…," he began.

"_Dark gales lift the wings that will soar forth to unreachable heights! Synchro Summon and take flight, Blackwing Armor Master!"_

Gale flew into the air with Shura right behind. Gale became three Synchro Gates and Shura flew into them and became see-through. From the burst of darkness appeared Armor Master. (ATK 2500/DEF 1500)

"Armor Master attack him directly with your Black Hurricane!" Armor Master flew at Eric he smirked and pressed a button on the console of his Runner.

"I'll activate Gem Retribution!" Armor Master was covered in a shell of crystal. The crystal shrank crushing Armor Master out of existence.

The now shrunken gem began to shake and a large lizard with milky white skin and clear crystal armor coverings its head and wings crawled out and hissed at Rob. (ATK 2400/DEF 1200)

"Meet my Ancient Lizard – Quartz LV5, cute isn't he?" Eric asked with a grin.

"Sure he's cute," Rob muttered sarcastically. "But what just happened other than my Armor Master being turned into jewellery?"

"Well, Gem Retribution can only be activated during the turn in which an Ancient Lizard monster was destroyed by battle," Eric explained. "It destroys a monster on your side of the field and then it allows me to Special Summon from my Deck or Graveyard a monster with a lower level than the destroyed monster."

"Ok now I get it," Rob said. "I just really don't like it."

"Well bro, in life there are always things we don't like," Eric muttered. "Me I don't particularly like carrots, but like my sensei taught me we have to learn to live with them."

"That would've sounded much more sage like if it hadn't involved carrots," Rob chuckled rubbing the back of his head. "Well I've got nothing I can do, so my turn is over."

**(Rob: 4200 – SPC: 8) - (Eric: 5800 – SPC: 7)**

"Quartz attack directly with Clear Flames!" the dragon like reptile roared and breathed a stream of white flames. They struck Rob and he gritted his teeth in pain.

**(Rob: 1800 – SPC: 6) - (Eric: 5800 – SPC: 7)**

"Well bro, it seems you are in trouble," Eric said. "I only need to land one more direct attack with a beatstick and you lose."

"That's absolutely true," Rob smirked. "But you know what I'm not going to lose this duel, I've got someone I want to face and I refuse to lose before he and I square off!"

"I can admire that bro," Eric said. "But I should inform you that since Quartz inflicted damage to your Life Points you must skip your next Battle Phase and since it was a direct attack he gets to evolve to his final form!" Quartz was covered in white flames that formed a sort of cocoon.

"Meet Ancient Lizard – Quartz LV7!" flames disappeared and Quartz had been altered. His wings were now gone and he stood on two legs, large spikes covered his back and a helmet made of crystal covered his head and horns had sprouted from the back of it. (ATK 2900/DEF 1100)

"And I'll set a card face down and that'll be all," he grinned.

**(Rob: 1800 – SPC: 7) - (Eric: 5800 – SPC: 8)**

"I'll summon Breeze the Zephyr!" from the portal flew the brightly coloured Blackwing monster. She looked around and seemed confused. (ATK 1100/DEF 300) "Sorry, Breeze I don't have anyone to tune you with this time."

"She's kind of cute," Eric said. "And she isn't much of a _Black_wing, she's a little off colour."

"I know," Rob chuckled. "I think it's a rule that the females have to be brightly coloured, but that would just be a guess."

"But now I'll activate Spell Speed – Angelic Assistance!" Rob quickly pulled two cards off the top of his Deck and grinned. "Perfect, I set two cards face down and call it a turn!"

**(Rob: 1800 – SPC: 8) - (Eric: 5800 – SPC: 9)**

"Nice try bro, but I think you're bluffing!" Eric shouted. "Quartz attack Breeze!" the Reptile snarled and lunged at Breeze who cried out in terror.

"I activate Call of the Haunted and revive my Armor Master!" the ground burst open and Armor Master flew out. Quartz stopped as if unsure of what to do.

"Quartz continue your attack!" Eric cried. The Reptile nodded and was just about to slash Breeze when Rob's other face down card flipped open.

"I activate my other face down card, Covering Fire!" (ATK 1100-3600/DEF 300) just as Quartz's claw was about to strike Armor Master grabbed the opposing monster and Breeze fired two small burst of wind that shattered Quartz. "This allows me to add the attack of my Armor Master to Breeze's attack points during the damage step when you attacked.

**(Rob: 1800 – SPC: 8) - (Eric: 5100 – SPC: 9)**

"I'll set a monster face down and that'll be all," Eric said. (ATK 3600-1100/DEF 300)

**(Rob: 1800 – SPC: 9) - (Eric: 5100 – SPC: 10)**

"_I don't for one second believe for one second that face down card is harmless,"_ Rob thought. "I activate Speed Spell – Shift Down, I just ditch six of Speed Counter and then I get to draw twice!" Rob decelerated and tore two cards off the top of his Deck.

**(Rob: 1800 – SPC: 3) - (Eric: 5100 – SPC: 10)**

"Now I'll activate Speed Spell – Gap Cyclone!" he shouted.

"I really don't like the sound of that," Eric said.

"You shouldn't," Rob smirked. "This card is kind of like the more powerful Gap Storm card, only this card can only be activated when the difference in our Speed Counters is five or more in your favour. Then one card on your side of the field is gone!" a whirlwind shot out of the card and tore Eric's face down Mirror Force to pieces.

"Well unless you have another monster you won't be able to defeat me this turn," Eric grinned. "Then I'll be able to mount a counterattack!"

"Yes but you won't be mounting any counter attacks today!" Rob declared. "I summon Kalut the Moon Shadow!" from the portal appeared a monster Rob very rarely summoned. (ATK 1400/DEF 1000) Kalut looked around and then crowed in joy.

"Now I tune my level three, Breeze the Zephyr and my level three, Kalut the Moon Shadow….," he began.

"_The fierce dark winds buffer the enemy with your unrelenting force! Synchro Summon and soar Blackwing Armed Wing!"_

Breeze flew above Rob and transformed into three green rings. Kalut seemed hesitant at first but quickly followed Breeze. From the darkness appeared the gun totting Blackwing monster, he looked over at Armor Master and nodded. (ATK 2300/DEF 1300)

"Ok Armed Wing attack his face down monster with Black Tornado, and I should inform you that when he attacks a defense mode monster he gains 500 attack points and inflicts piercing damage!" (ATK 2300-2800/DEF 1000) Armed Wing unleashed a hail of gunfire on Eric's face down monster, which looked like Quartz only smaller.

**(Rob: 1800 – SPC: 3) - (Eric: 3000 – SPC: 8)**

"Armor Master attack him directly with Black Hurricane!" Armor Master shot forward and slashed Eric's Runner causing him to slow down even more.

**(Rob: 1800 – SPC: 3) - (Eric: 500 – SPC: 6)**

"Told you bro, I'm still in this," Eric smirked.

"Yes but I have more cards to activate," Rob grinned. "Like Speed Spell – Trap Launcher, so now I can activate a Trap card from my hand, like my Synchro Out!" Armed Wing began to faded and disappeared splitting into Breeze and Kalut again.

"This card is kind of like De-Synchro only it has another effect, but this duel will be long over before then," he explained. "Kalut end this with a direct attack!" Kalut cried tears of joy and flew forward and smacked Eric over the head with his wing.

**(Rob: 1800 – SPC: 3) - (Eric: 0 – SPC: 6)**

Eric and Rob both skidded to a halt and Eric grinned. "Well bro, that was an amazing duel I thank you. And I know I've made Jean-sensei proud!"

"I bet you have," Rob grinned. "And if you ever can I'd like to duel you again, your monsters are the coolest. But if I may ask why don't, you use a Beast Deck?"

"Well bro, you see other than Jean-sensei and his friends I also admire Jesse Anderson," Eric said. "The man was a champion duelist from Scandinavia and one of the few people who could match Jaden Yuki in pure dueling power. But alas his monsters are forever out of my reach, but when I saw these monsters I just had to have them, I worked as many extra hours as I could and bought them online, they're very rare and expensive."

"I must admit that sound really cool," Rob said. "Well good luck with future duels, bro!" he said before he jumped on his bike and driving away.

**Zeke: How come Rob is the only one who does have people come after him for vengeance.**

**Josh: I don't know maybe it's a Hogan thing like not being good with women.**

**Reina: Oh well it doesn't matter anyway.**

**Vincent: Seems kind of unfair if you ask me.**

**Melissa: Well he does make the lowest pay of all of us.**

**Josh: Next time Zeke is forced into a deadly duel.**

**Alexandria: Don't miss Aerial Assault.**

**Rob: Wait I get the lowest pay, what the…..!**

**Original Cards**

Pump Up

Image: The actual card was never clearly seen.

| Spell | Select 1 monster you control. Its ATK is doubled until the End Phase.

(This card was first used by the Pharaoh in episode 156 of the original Yu-gi-oh! All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Ancient Lizard – Ruby LV2

Fire | Level 2 | Reptile/Effect | 950/800 | During your Standby Phase you can send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon one 'Ancient Lizard – Ruby LV4' from your hand or Deck.

Ancient Lizard – Ruby LV4

Fire | Level 4 | Reptile/Effect | 1950/1700 | This card cannot be destroyed by Traps that target. During the End Phase of the turn this card destroyed a monster by battle, by sending this card to the Graveyard Special Summon one 'Ancient Lizard – Ruby LV6' from your Deck or hand.

Speed Spell – Speed Energy

Image: An unknown creature flying through a stream of light blue energy. (The creature does look sort of like Twin-Sword Marauder.)

| Spell | Activate only while you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 face-up monster you control. It gains 200 ATK for each Speed Counter you have until the End Phase.

(This card was first used by Yusei in the Yu-gi-oh! 5D's OVA, Evolving Duel! Stardust vs. Red Demons, all creative credit goes to the writers of that.)

Ancient Lizard – Emerald LV3

Wind | Level 3 | Reptile/Effect | 1000/600 | If this card successful attacks your opponent directly, during their next turn they may only activate one Spell card. During your Standby Phase send you can send this card to the Graveyard, to Special Summon one 'Ancient Lizard – Emerald LV5' from your hand or Deck.

Ancient Lizard – Ruby LV6

Fire | Level 6 | Reptile/Effect | 2450/2200 | Once per turn when your opponent activates a Trap card, you may negate the activation of that card and set it face down. During the End Phase of the turn this card destroyed a monster by battle send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon one 'Ancient Lizard – Ruby LV8' from your hand or Deck.

Level Defense

Image: Silent Magician LV8 defending Silent Swordsman LV3 from an attack.

| Continuous Trap | As long as this card remains face up your opponent must select the 'LV' monster with the highest attack points as an attack target.

Ancient Lizard – Emerald LV5

Wind | Level 5 | Reptile/Effect | 2300/1800 | This card is not effected by your opponent's Spell cards. If this card successfully attacks your opponent directly, then during your next Standby Phase, Special Summon one 'Ancient Lizard – Emerald LV7' from your hand or Deck.

Speed Spell – Level Jump

Image: Armed Dragon LV5 with a silhouette of its level 7 form above it.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 3 or more Speed Counters. Send one 'LV' monster on your side of the field to the Graveyard. Special Summon a monster that is written in the card text of the sent monster, ignoring any and all summoning conditions.

Ancient Lizard – Ruby LV8

Fire | Level 8 | Reptile/Effect | 2950/2000 | This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of Ancient Lizard – Ruby LV6. Once per turn you may discard a Trap card from your hand to the Graveyard to change the battle mode of one monster your opponent controls. This card inflicts piercing damage.

Grip of Despair

Image: Fear from the Dark choking Freed the Matchless General.

| Trap | This card's effect activates when it is discarded from the hand or sent from the Deck to the Graveyard. Inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the level of the monster they control with the highest attack points times 200.

Ancient Lizard – Topaz LV4

Light | Level 4 | Reptile/Effect | 1600/1100 | This card can not be targeted by your opponent's monster effects. If this card attacks your opponent directly you can send this card to the Graveyard during the End Phase and Special Summon one 'Ancient Lizard – Topaz LV6' from your hand or Deck.

Comparative Value

Image: A man in an expensive suit looking a various gemstones in a store.

| Trap | Activate during the turn when one or more 'Ancient Lizard' monster(s) was destroyed. Special Summon one of the destroyed monsters.

Ancient Lizard – Topaz LV6

Light | Level 6 | Reptile/Effect | 2300/1700 | Negate the effect of any monster this card destroys by battle. If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle you may send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 'Ancient Lizard – Topaz LV8' from your Deck or hand.

Gem Retribution

Image: A shell of crystal covering the Dark Magician.

| Trap | Activate only during the turn in which an 'Ancient Lizard' monster was destroyed by battle. Special Summon one 'Ancient Lizard' monster from your Deck or Graveyard that is a lower level than the destroyed monster.

Ancient Lizard – Quartz LV5

Earth | Level 5 | Reptile/Effect | 2400/1200 | While this card remains face up on the field 'Ancient Lizard' monsters you control cannot be targeted by your opponent's Spell cards. If this card attacks you opponent's Life Points directly during your End Phase you may send it to the Graveyard to Special Summon one 'Ancient Lizard – Quartz LV7' from your Deck or hand.

Ancient Lizard – Quartz LV7

Earth | Level 7 | Reptile/Effect | 2900/1100 | This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of 'Ancient Lizard – Quartz LV7'. While this card remains face up on the field 'Ancient Lizard' monsters you control are unaffected by your opponent's Spell cards.

Speed Spell – Shift Down

Image: A Turbo duelist behind the controls of a Duel Runner.

| Spell | Remove 6 of your Speed Counters. Draw 2 cards.

(This card was first used by Yusei in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 17, all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Speed Spell – Gap Cyclone

Image: A small whirlwind blowing a Turbo duelist's Ultimate Offering.

| Quick-Play Spell | Activate while a player has at least five more Speed Counters than their opponent. Destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field.

Synchro Out

Image: A vortex with three green rings and a bolt of light below it.

| Trap | Activate by selecting 1 Synchro Monsters you control. Return that monster to your Extra Deck. If the Synchro Material Monsters that were used for the Synchro Summon of that monster are in your Graveyard, Special Summon them from your Graveyard to your side of the field. Destroy them during the End Phase.

(This card was first used by Yusei in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 72, all creative credit goes to the writer's of that episode.)


	27. Ch27: Aerial Assault

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Aerial Assault

(A/N: In this chapter I use the anime effect of a Banned card. It's banned because when it was made real its effect was actually made broken, so its anime effect will do.)

What was Zeke doing while Reina and Rob were busy dueling, in Reina's case for her life? He was working, and he was not happy about it.

A customer hadn't entered the card shop all day, or for the last few days for that matter. Not surprising because most people bought packs and cards before a tournament started.

"Of all the days I had to come into work," he groaned. "Oh well at least he's giving me time and a half."

He looked around and sighed. He liked working here it meant he'd always know when the newest packs came out. Plus he got a discount which was always helpful. It had the regular things you'd expect of a card shop, rows of booster packs, the newest one were behind the counter. Some cards were out on display their prices were written below them.

But a slightly unusual sight was the large number of female Duel Monsters figurines. The most prominent was a Dark Magician Girl figure sealed in a glass case, as well as several posters of the famous apprentice.

"I have to wonder if he has a copy of her card," Zeke muttered.

"Unfortunately Zeke I do not," someone sighed. It was a middle aged man wearing a brown coat, and a red and yellow beanie on his head, round sunglasses covered his eyes. He held a small case. "The Dark Magician Girl is a very rare card, even more rare thanks to her use by Yugi Muto."

"Oh I guess that makes sense," Zeke said. "I have to wonder how Josh got a hold of his I bet he probably won it off some poor chump."

"So you know someone who has one?" Kurumizawa asked excitedly.

"Yes I do," Zeke said. "I even faced her. She's owned by Alexandria Trudge, but don't try to bargain for it, her boyfriend gave it to her so she treasures it."

"Oh well," Kurumizawa sighed. "If you ever get a copy and are will to give it to me I'll give you a substantial raise."

"I know you've told me that several times boss," Zeke chuckled. "So what's in the case, another rare card set order?"

"Yes, these were exceedingly hard to get," Kurumizawa sighed. "I had to special order them from Europe, luckily for the person they paid extra for things like that and rush delivery."

"Ok so who are we waiting for?" Zeke asked.

Kurumizawa looked at the order form attached to the case. "A Mr. Elliot Walker, he called and said he should be here in under an hour."

"Walker eh," Zeke murmured. "I wonder if he's related to one of Josh's cronies."

"Well Zeke since I'm sorry that you had to work today," Kurumizawa said. "Once this person picks up the case you can leave and go rejoin the tournament, I wish you good luck."

"Thanks boss," Zeke said taking the case.

Several minutes later

Zeke was playing solitaire when someone walked into the store. Zeke put the cards away. "Hello welcome to Kurumizawa's shop, how may I help you?"

"I'm here to pick up a package, my name is Elliot Walker," the person said. He had blond hair cut short, his eyes were dark brown and he wore a riding suit that sort of resembled armor, under his arm was a helmet that looked like that of a gladiator.

"Ok I have the package, but I'll need to see some I.D.," Zeke said then he noticed Elliot was glaring at him. "Any particular reason you're giving me the evil eye?"

"Yes," Elliot snarled pulling out a Duel Runner license with his name and picture on it. "You humiliated me in front of a huge crowd at Duel Academy!" he roared.

Zeke thought for a moment then smirked. "I remember you. You had a crappy Machine Deck and I annihilated you because you were the biggest bully who thought you were unstoppable. Your sister was for more competent than you were or I'm betting ever will be."

"Shut up you little puke!" Elliot roared grabbing Zeke by the collar.

Zeke smirked and pointed behind Elliot. The angered teen turned his head and growled, there was a security camera was watching them. "I'd be careful if I were you, you never know what's being recorded."

"Fine," Elliot huffed. "How about we settle this like men, in a duel, unless you've been knocked out of the tournament."

"Sounds fine by me," Zeke grinned handing Elliot the case. "You're still a customer so take this. Hey boss the customer picked up his package so I'm out of here," he called.

"Ok see you later Zeke, good luck in the tournament !" Kurumizawa called back.

The two walked outside and Zeke walked up to his Runner. Elliot walked up to his which was painted a rusty brown colour with a strange design on the front. He tore open the case it held six cards two of which he added to his Extra Deck.

"Are you ready to go down in flames Kessler?" Elliot sneered.

Zeke attached his Duel Disk to the terminal on Runner which was painted black with a purple flame like design. "I hope you're ready for some familiar face," Zeke retorted. "Because I'm sure my Infernity monsters will want to kick your ass again."

The two pulled onto the highway and Elliot smirked and snapped his fingers. "I'll have my revenge for the humiliation," he whispered.

The two hit the button and pulled their Runner's out of their parking spaces. _"Speed World set on. Duel mode engaged, auto-pilot disabled,"_ the computer's voice said.

"Duel!" both boys shouted.

**(Zeke: 8000 – SPC: 0) - (Elliot: 8000 – SPC: 0)**

Elliot pulled the first six cards off his Deck and smirked. "I'll be making the first move!"

"Fine by me," Zeke said only to gasp in shock as purple fog began to pour out of Elliot's bike. It covered the two trapping them inside a familiar dome.

"Are you stupid!" Zeke snarled. "You do realize whoever loses this duel will lose their soul?"

"I know and that's exactly why I asked Archer to grant me these powers," Elliot smirked. "I've proven myself worthy by taking the souls of plenty of duelists in this tournament so far!"

Zeke sighed and then glared at Elliot. "You know Elliot before you said that, I was going to show you some level of mercy. But now I'm going to hit you with my full power!"

"Bring it on chump!" Elliot taunted. "I'll set two cards face down and then a monster on the defensive and that'll do for an opening move."

**(Zeke: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Elliot: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

Just as Zeke drew one of Elliot's face down cards flipped up. "Reveal Trap card!" he cried. "Ancient Gear Fortress," the Trap card depicted a large base made of grey rock guarded by several Ancient Gear Soldiers.

"This card has a handy effect," he smirked. "Every time either one of us sets or Normal Summons a monster this card will gain a counter, and for every counter Ancient Gear monsters will gain 100 attack points, plus it has an effect much like Ancient Gear Castle."

"Fine I'll summon Blade Knight!" from the portal appeared a knight in shimmering light blue armor holding a scimitar and a diamond shaped shield. (ATK 1600/DEF 1000) (AGF: 0-1)

"He may not be a true Infernity but he's a welcome member of my Deck," Zeke said as a ball of flame appeared in front of the Trap card.

"Blade Knight attack his face down with Shining Blade!" the Warrior jumped forward and cleaved a large rat with blue fur holding a skull in its paws, in two.

"Thanks chump, you just destroyed Giant Rat and when that happens..," Elliot said only to be interrupted by Zeke.

"I know what it does," he snapped. "You can now Special Summon a weak Earth Attribute monster from your Deck."

"Very right and I'll call out Ancient Gear Falcon from my Deck!" from the portal appeared a large metal bird made of gears and rust coloured metal. (ATK 800-900/DEF 800)

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Zeke said.

**(Zeke: 8000 – SPC: 2) - (Elliot: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"I summon Ancient Gear Hound!" a large mechanical dog ran onto the field. Its head was more angular than Ancient Gear Beast and it has a curved tail protruding from its behind. (AGF: 1-2) (ATK 900-1000/DEF 800)(ATK 1300-1500/DEF 1100) "And his effect is very useful because as long as he remains face up on the field all Ancient Gear monsters gain 300 attack points!" (ATK 1000-1300/DEF 800) (ATK 1500-1800/DEF 1100)

"Hound slaughter is Blade Knight with Mechanized Lunge!" the robotic dog growled and pounced on the hapless Warrior. It bit his neck causing him to howl in pain and shatter.

**(Zeke: 7800 – SPC: 2) - (Elliot: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"Now….!" Elliot shouted.

"Before you declare your attack I'll activate my face down card!" Zeke declared. "I activate Rope of Life!" he threw his cards into the Graveyard and then a rope appeared in his hand. A hole opened up beside his Runner and he threw the rope in, he gave a yank and Blade Knight jumped out. (ATK 1600-2800/DEF 1000)

"Huh, how'd his attack points jump so high?" Elliot demanded.

"Well, Rope of Life may have a high cost for some duelists but for me, its cost is just fine," Zeke smirked. "Since you destroyed Blade Knight I was allowed to fold my whole hand and the Blade Knight comes back with 800 extra attack points, plus if I have one or less cards in my hand he gains an extra 400 attack points."

"Oh and one of the cards I discarded was called Infernity Merchant and since it was discarded by card effect I can add one Infernity card from my Deck to my hand, on the condition I don't play it this turn," a card slid out of Zeke's Deck and he placed it by itself in his hand slot.

"Fine I'll have my Falcon attack…..you directly!" Elliot shouted. The mechanized bird flew into the air and fired a barrage of sound that slammed into Zeke.

**(Zeke: 6500 – SPC: 1) - (Elliot: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"Then I'll simply end my turn," he smirked.

**(Zeke: 6500 – SPC: 2) - (Elliot: 8000 – SPC: 3)**

Zeke added a card to his hand and then threw one into his Duel Disk. "I summon Infernity Beast!" the demonic dog ran onto the field. (ATK 1600/DEF 1200) (AGF: 2-3) (ATK 1300-1400/DEF 800) (ATK 1800-1900/DEF 1100)

"Infernity Beast attack his Falcon with Hell Howling!" the demonic canine inflated the sacks on the side of its head and unleashed its own blast of sound shattering the bird like it was made of glass.

**(Zeke: 6500 – SPC: 2) - (Elliot: 7800 – SPC: 3)**

"Blade Knight attack his Hound with Shining Blade!" Blade Knight charged forward his weapon held above his head.

"Reveal face down card!" Elliot cried. "Sakuretsu Armor, so kiss your monster goodbye!" the Fiend appeared and caught Blade Knight in a bear-hug crushing him to death.

"Well I almost want to thank you, but I hate you guts and I liked Blade Knight," Zeke said.

"What are you blathering about?" Elliot growled.

"Well since I have no cards in my hand and I only control Infernity monsters I can Special Summon this guy from my Graveyard!" two hands burst out of the ground and second later what appeared to be an undead soldier had pulled itself out of the ground. (ATK 1200/DEF 700) "Say hello to the Tuner monster Infernity Trooper, and since he was Special Summoned by his effect he'll be removed from play when he leaves the field."

"Wait don't tell me you're going to….?" Elliot gasped.

"Yes I'm tuning my level three, Infernity Trooper with my level three, Infernity Beast….!" Zeke began.

"_The eternal king of the endless night spreads his wings eclipsing the moon and blanketing the word in shadows! Synchro Summon, Infernity Bat King!"_

Infernity Trooper shattered and became three green rings. They quickly encircled Infernity Beast who was turned transparent. Instead of anything normally seen, a huge swarm of bats appeared. They fused together to form a man with skin that was white as paper, with huge demonic black wings jutting out of his back, he only wore a black loincloth and held a sword with a jagged black blade. (ATK 2400/DEF 1700)

"Well since I have no other cards in my hand my turn is over," Zeke said.

**(Zeke: 6500 – SPC: 3) - (Elliot: 7800 – SPC: 4)**

Elliot drew and snarled. "I'll set a monster face down and move my Ancient Gear Hound to defense mode," the robotic dog crouched down and another flame appeared in front of the Trap card. (AGF: 3-4) (ATK 1900-2000/DEF 1100)

"Then I'll set a card face down and end my turn," he said through his teeth.

**(Zeke: 6500 – SPC: 4) - (Elliot: 7800 – SPC: 5)**

"You may have though defending was a smart move," Zeke smirked. "But you didn't think I'd draw this guy, arise Infernity Dwarf!" in a burst of black fire appeared a small portly man with grey skin wielding a flaming battle axe. (ATK 800/DEF 500) (AGF: 4-5)

"As you well know," the Infernity duelist smirked. "He isn't the strongest attacker but since I have no cards in my hand all of my monsters now inflict piercing damage! So Bat King attack his Hound with Terror Slash!" the winged Infernity nodded and flew forward his sword ready to stab the robot.

"Ha, got you sucker, I activate my face down card Shadow Spell!" the black chain appeared and coiled around the pale Fiend who smirked.

He exploded into hundreds of bats. They reformed into the King and he slashed Ancient Gear Hound, the rusty Machine sparked then exploded. "Wait but how?" Elliot demanded.

**(Zeke: 6500 – SPC: 4) - (Elliot: 6500 – SPC: 4)**

"You're the sucker," Zeke sneered. "My Bat King has a powerful effect so long as he remains face up on the field and I have no cards in my hand all Infernity monsters cannot be targeted by your Trap cards."

"Infernity Dwarf attack his face down monster!" the small monster roared and jumped at the face down monster bringing his axe down. There was a loud clang as the axe was caught by a small Machine that was mostly made of gear with a small cylinder acting as the body and a pair of skinny arms. (ATK 100-600/DEF 800)

"Looks like your stupid gnome couldn't get past my Ancient Gear," Elliot laughed.

"Never call my monsters stupid Elliot, and he's a dwarf not a gnome!" Zeke retorted angrily.

"Whatever since you have no cards in your hand I take it you end your turn?" the blonde teen asked and Zeke nodded.

**(Zeke: 6500 – SPC: 5) - (Elliot: 6500 – SPC: 5)**

"Ha I just drew this Deck's ace monster," Elliot laughed.

"I'm not afraid of your Golem," Zeke said.

"I didn't draw my Golem, nor is that thing my ace monster," Elliot snickered. "I activate Speed Spell – Level Trade In, this allows me to since I have four or more Speed Counters select one monster in my hand and return that monster to my Deck, then from my Deck I can take a monster who is exactly the same level. So since this thing is level eight I'll send it back to my Deck to get my Ancient Gear Golem!"

"_His ace isn't Ancient Gear Golem, then what in the Hell could it be?"_ Zeke asked himself. _"I can't think of another level eight Machine monster other than Perfect Machine King that isn't a Fusion monster, and I'm doubtful he has that."_

"Now I'll activate the effect of the Ancient Gear in my hand and since I control a face up Ancient Gear I can Special Summon it in attack mode!" in a burst of electricity appeared another Ancient Gear. (ATK 100-600/DEF 800)

"Now I release them both to call out my **Ancient Gear Golem**!" the two small Machines vanished into motes of light and then two huge arms burst out of the ground. The Machine the pulled itself out of the hole it had was huge. It stood twenty feet tall with the same rusty armor the others had, it wore a helmet that looked like a Roman gladiator's, its single optic senor seemed to stare down at Zeke. (AGF: 5-6) (ATK 3000-3600/DEF 3000)

"Attack his pathetic Infernity Dwarf with Mechanized Melee!" the gears inside the Golem whirred to life and it threw its giant fist at the tiny monster crushing him instantly, the impact of the attack almost threw Zeke off his Runner.

**(Zeke: 3700 – SPC: 3) - (Elliot: 6500 – SPC: 5)**

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, that was hilarious!" Elliot laughed. "I wish I was recording this so I could see that again!"

"Laugh if up while you can," Zeke snarled. "I won't let you just get away with something like that!"

"Oh and what are you going to do to stop me," Elliot asked mockingly. "In case you didn't notice have a monster that's stronger than the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I'm going to the finals of the tournament and you're a stepping stone to that!"

"You can keep dreaming your lunatic!" Zeke retorted. "You'd be no where if it wasn't for Archer giving you those cards!"

"Ha, you think Archer gave me these cards?" Elliot asked. "No I bought these cards with my own money I saved for weeks to buy them just so I could get my revenge on you. And when some dude who looked like a zombie told could be even stronger if I joined Archer, and I'd get a chance for revenge for how you humiliated me!"

"You got what you deserved!" Zeke growled. "You would always have your goons take your opponent's Deck and then when it came time to duel you'd give your opponent a Deck that was worse that most starter Decks. But I was wise you're your dirty trick and faked your goons out with a fake Deck, then I beat you into the ground with my Infernity Deck, but you know what I could've still annihilated you if I'd used the same Deck I used to defeat your sister."

"Hmph, enough talk, back to the duel!" Elliot laughed. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

**(Zeke: 3700 – SPC: 4) - (Elliot: 6500 – SPC: 6)**

"There's nothing I can do, I'll pass," Zeke said with a scowl.

**(Zeke: 3700 – SPC: 5) - (Elliot: 6500 – SPC: 7)**

"I summon good old Ancient Gear Soldier!" Elliot's latest monster looked sort of like a miniature version of Ancient Gear Golem only it had a machine gun in place of its right hand and its eye glowed blue not red. (AGF: 6-7) (ATK 3600-3700/DEF 3000) (ATK 1300-2000/DEF 1300)

"But he won't be around for long because I'm activating Speed Spell – High Speed Crash!" Elliot laughed and Zeke gasped in horror. "Since I have two or more Speed Counters I destroy one of your cards then one of my cards, so goodbye to your Bat King and my Soldier!" Ancient Gear Soldier charged forward and slammed into Infernity Bat King causing a huge explosion.

"Now it's time to die!" Elliot roared. "Ancient Gear Golem end this with Mechanized Melee!" the massive Machine whirred to life again and threw its powerful punch.

Zeke threw a card into his Graveyard and a small demon holding mirror appeared before him. The Golem's punch was absorbed by the mirror, which shattered into globes of light that phased into Zeke.

**(Zeke: 7400 – SPC: 5) - (Elliot: 6500 – SPC: 7)**

"What in the Hell happened!" Elliot cried with outrage. "You should be a smear on the road!"

"No but thanks to you I'm feeling better than I did a few minutes ago!" Zeke smirked. "I discarded my Infernity Absorber, and since it was the only card in my hand when I did that all damage to me was turned into gain."

"Damn you!" Elliot roared.

"Are you going to end your turn, or continue to freak out?" Zeke asked.

"I'll end my turn," Elliot said through his teeth. "But mark my words I'm going to make sure you suffer!"

"You know I have the horrible feeling you won't be the last person to say that to me," Zeke chuckled.

**(Zeke: 7400 – SPC: 6) - (Elliot: 6500 – SPC: 8)**

Zeke drew and his face lit up. "Time to send your Golem back where it belongs, in the junkyard, I activate Speed Spell – Angelic Assistance," he quickly pulled two cards off the top of his Deck.

"Now I'll summon Infernity Mirage and then I'll set my other two cards face down!" the fiendish witch doctor appeared and chuckled evilly. (ATK 0/DEF 0) (AGF: 7-8) (ATK 3700-3800/DEF 3000)

"Ha all you've succeeded in doing is making my Golem unstoppable!" Elliot laughed. "Nothing you can summon can defeat it now!"

"Really well I'll activate Infernity Mirage's effect and release it to call back my Bat King and Beast!" Infernity Mirage disappeared and the bestial and winged Infernity monsters returned. "Now I'll activate my face down Speed Spell – Speed Fusion and I'll fuse my Bat King and Beast!"

"What that's impossible!" Elliot cried. "There's no Infernity Fusion monster!"

"Really because I'm pretty sure this guy is!" the two monsters were pulled into the vortex and shadows exploded out of it. The creature that flew out had wings like Bat King, only this monster had four of them and he held two black scimitars and wore a midnight blue robe. (ATK 2800/DEF 2300) "Meet Infernity Emperor of the Night!"

"Now I'll activate one of my other face down cards Speed Spell – Speed Energy, so my Emperor gains 200 attack points for every Speed Counter I have and I have six!" energy seeped off the ground and coiled around the winged Fiend causing him to grow in size. (ATK 2800-4000/DEF 2300)

"Emperor attack with Twin Dread Slash!" the royal Infernity flew into the air and dove at the mechanized giant.

"You're Fiend is about to bite the dust, because I reveal my face down card Mirror Force!" the shimmering wall of light appeared and Zeke just chuckled.

"I activate my Emperor's effect and remove Infernity Mirage from the Graveyard to negate his destruction by card effect!" the winged Fiend slashed the wall with his swords causing it to shatter. He flew forward and with one swift swipe of each sword lopped off the Machine's head it started to spark and then exploded.

**(Zeke: 7400 – SPC: 6) - (Elliot: 6300 – SPC: 8)**

"Man nothing has ever felt that therapeutic before," Zeke laughed. "I'll end my turn." (ATK 4000-2800/DEF 2300)

**(Zeke: 7400 – SPC: 7) - (Elliot: 6300 – SPC: 9)**

Elliot snarled and drew. "You'll pay a thousand times over for that you bastard!"

"I'll write you a check because I honestly doubt that pile of scrap was worth much in terms of metal," Zeke snickered.

"I summon Ancient Gear Knight!" the monster that jumped onto the field looked remarkably like Ancient Gear Soldier only it lacked the machine gun, instead it had a lance and gear shaped shield. (AGF: 8-9) (ATK 1800-2700/DEF 500)

"And I'm not done by half I activate Speed Spell – Power Baton, so since my Speed Counters are six or higher I send a monster from my Deck to the Graveyard a monster and have another monster I control gain attack points equal to those of the sent monster, so long as skip my next Draw Phase!" Elliot laughed.

"Oh crap that means….!" Zeke gasped.

"Yes I'm sending the monster you saw earlier to the Graveyard to have my Knight gain 3000 attack points!" Ancient Gear Knight grew to enormous proportions. (ATK 2700-5700/DEF 500)

"Gear Knight eradicate his so called Emperor!" the mechanical monster charged forward and skewered Zeke's monster, he howled in pain and then shattered like glass, the impact from the attack slammed into Zeke causing him to spin out.

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 5) - (Elliot: 6300 – SPC: 9)**

As Zeke struggled to regain control of his bike he remembered something from a few years ago.

Four years ago

_Zeke his father and a hulking man with dark skin and hair wearing what seemed to be chest armor and beige pants. On his arm was an active Duel Disk. All three of them were standing or in Kalin's case sitting down._

_Zeke had Opticlops a large brown skinned ogre with a single eye and horn, Dark Ruler Ha Des and Archfiend Soldier all of them in attack mode, he had 2600 Life Points, he had no face down cards._

_The man had two face down cards and three monsters but only 900 Life Points. The monsters all looked sort of like military aircraft, one looked like a dragon with red wings, another was dark green with a gun turret in place of a head, the final one was olive coloured with two huge propellers on its shoulders._

"_Well looks like I'm going to win this duel Greiger," Zeke said. "I told you not to hold back against me so I hope you didn't. Oh ya and I end my turn."_

_Greiger drew and smiled. "I wouldn't think of holding back against you Zeke that would insult your pride. I activate Limiter Removal, so the attack points of all Machine monsters are doubled but during the End Phase they'll all be destroyed," he explained as the attack points of the three Machine's doubled to 1600, 2400 and 4000. Greiger threw his hand forward and shouted his command and Dark Ruler Ha Des and Opticlops were destroyed and Zeke's Life Points dropped to 450._

"_I'm not finished yet, and your three Machines will be blown to scrap then when my turn come around my Archfiend Soldier will end this duel!" Zeke declared._

_Greiger shook his head. "Zeke you have no next turn, but I must admit you are a powerful duelist much like your father and I activate my face down card Delta Reactor and send my three monsters to the Graveyard to call out my ultimate monster!" the three Machine's exploded and a much larger Machine appeared. "End this!" Greiger commanded and Archfiend Soldier was hit by a hail of missiles and shattered._

_Zeke was thrown back by the explosion and landed on his rear. "Oh well winning was fun while it lasted," he sighed._

_Greiger walked over to him and helped him to his feet. "As I said Zeke you are an excellent duelist and you have talent that may one day allow you to exceed your father's skills just keep up the hard work," the Peruvian man said shaking Zeke's hand._

Back in the present

Zeke regained control of his bike and snarled. "You bastard you're using the Reactor cards!"

"Yes I am and what is it you?" Elliot asked with a sneer.

"I'll make you a deal, if I win I get those four cards plus one card from your Extra Deck," Zeke proposed.

"Why should I agree to that wager, what do I stand to gain?" Elliot inquired.

"If you beat me then you can have my Infernity Deck, it's full of very rare cards including one card that hasn't been released to the public yet," Zeke offered.

"Fine I'll be able to make fortune selling your Infernity cards or maybe I can give them to Master Archer," Elliot smirked. "I'll end my turn with a face down card. (ATK 5700-2700/DEF 500)

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 6) - (Elliot: 6300 – SPC: 10)**

Zeke drew and looked at the card. _"This is my last hope, I'm not one to rely on luck but if I don't pull a miracle out of my butt, I'm going to die,"_ he thought.

"I activate Speed Spell – Angelic Assistance and since I'm holding no cards I can draw three cards!" he shouted before pulling three cards off his Deck.

"Now I'll activate Speed Spell – Returning Shadows!" a portal opened above Zeke and Infernity Trooper slowly dropped out. "This allows me to Special Summon a Dark Attribute monster from my removed from play zone with a level equal or lower than the number of Speed Counters I have, but it can't be used for an Advance Summon."

"Damn it that means….," Elliot growled.

"Right but first I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton, and then I draw twice and discard one card!" Zeke tore two cards off the top of his Deck and threw a card into the Graveyard. "Now I'll summon Infernity Necromancer!" the skeletal Fiend slowly floated onto the field and then crossed its arms over its chest. (ATK 0/DEF 2000) (AGF: 9-10) (ATK 2700-2800/DEF 500)

"Now I'll set the last card in my hand face down and activate Infernity Necromancer's effect and Special Summon my Infernity Dwarf!" the axe wielding Infernity jumped out of the portal created by the Necromancer and snarled at Elliot.

"Now I'll tune my level three, Infernity Trooper, my level, three Infernity Necromancer and my level two, Infernity Dwarf…..!" Zeke began.

"_At the end of life lies only death! But when the sacrifices are offered the king of death awakens! Come forth, Infernity Death Dragon!"_

Infernity Trooper became three green rings and then surrounded the Dwarf and the Necromancer reducing them to framework. As per most of Zeke's monster a burst of darkness occurred in place of a burst of light.

The monster that appeared was about ten or twelve feet tall wearing what looked like a stone crown on its head. Its skin was black and it had two sets of arms, one pair had a pair of pincers in place of claws. (ATK 3000/DEF 2400)

"I'm going to activate my Death Dragon's special ability and since I have no cards I can destroy your Ancient Gear Knight and inflict damage to your Life Points equal to half the destroyed monster's attack points! Go Infernity Death Breath!" the undead looking Dragon spewed a blast of flames that engulfed the Machine melting it into slag.

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 6) - (Elliot: 4900 – SPC: 9)**

"That'll be all," Zeke said.

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 7) - (Elliot: 4900 – SPC: 10)**

Elliot laughed out loud. "You may have thought you gained an edge," he sneered. "But it won't matter in a second because I activate Speed Spell – Junkyard Fusion!" his Graveyard glowed and Ancient Gear Golem, Ancient Gear Soldier and Ancient Gear Knight slipped out.

The ground began to shake and then it burst open and a titanic form arose. It was a twenty foot tall giant made of what looked like bronze, the upper body looked like the Ancient Gear Golem but from the waist down the Machine has four legs. (ATK 4400-5400/DEF 3400)

"My Spell card allows me to remove the components for a Machine type Fusion monster from my Graveyard to Special Summon a Fusion monster that requires those materials," Elliot laughed. "And this is my **Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem**, it has all the effects of version one point zero and something extra!"

"Oh crap," Zeke said. "Well I'm activating my Dust Tornado to trash your Fortress!" the debris filled whirlwind slammed into the Trap card shattering it like glass. (ATK 5400-4400/DEF 3400)

"Oh well Gear Golem attack with Hyper Mechanized Melee!" the gears inside the giant whirred to life and it smashed Death Dragon flat with a single punch.

Zeke was hit by the shockwave from the attack and nearly thrown off his bike. "Ugh it feels like someone was trying to rip my arms out of their sockets," he groaned.

**(Zeke: 3100 – SPC: 6) - (Elliot: 4900 – SPC: 10)**

"Looks like I won't even need to summon my ace," Elliot laughed. "Why don't you give up now Kessler and spare yourself the pain?"

"You can take your offer and go choke on it!" Zeke spat. "I'd rather die than surrender to scum like you!"

"Then you'll die like the weak little fool you are!" Elliot retorted angrily.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," he added.

**(Zeke: 3100 – SPC: 7) - (Elliot: 4900 – SPC: 11)**

"Elliot you seem to have forgotten one key factor in getting your revenge," Zeke smirked.

"Oh and what's that?" Elliot asked mockingly.

"My girlfriend," Zeke replied. "When she finds out you killed me she is going to feed you to Black Rose Dragon, and unlike Talia you lack a monster that you could summon to defend yourself."

"I'm not afraid of your freak girlfriend," Elliot sneered. "She'll never hurt me, last time I checked she's opposed to violence!"

"Against those who don't deserve it," Zeke said. "But that doesn't matter, you won't be beating me anytime soon, because I activate my face down card Call of the Haunted!" the ground burst open and Infernity Death Dragon reappeared.

"What you've had that face down most of the duel why didn't you activate it!" Elliot demanded.

"Honestly I was waiting for when I really needed it," Zeke smirked as he threw the only card in his hand into his Duel Runner. "Death Dragon trash his monster with Infernity Death Breath!" the sinister Dragon threw back its head and smote the mechanical titan with a burst of flames causing it to explode in a rain of metal.

**(Zeke: 3100 – SPC: 7) - (Elliot: 2700 – SPC: 9)**

"Reveal face down card Spare Parts!" the card flipped open and something flew out of it. "This allow me to when one of my Machine monsters is destroyed by card effect Special Summon a Machine type monster from my Deck as long it's a lower level than the destroyed monster, like my Summon Reactor SK!" the olive coloured Machine floated next to Elliot's Runner. (ATK 2000/DEF 1400)

"You summoning that thing disgusts me to my core," Zeke snarled. "I'll end my turn."

**(Zeke: 3100 – SPC: 8) - (Elliot: 2700 – SPC: 10)**

"I'll activate my other face down card!" Elliot declared. "Forced Summoning, so now we each select a level four or lower monster from our Deck and Special Summon it to the field, the summon monster may not attack this turn. I'll choose my Trap Reactor Y FI in defense mode." in a burst of electricity the Machine with a gun turret for a head appeared. (ATK 800/DEF 1800)

"Fine I'll choose my ever trusty Infernity Archfiend!" in a burst of darkness appeared the fiery haired four eyed Fiend. (ATK 1800/DEF 1200) "And since I'm holding no cards I can add an Infernity card from my Deck to my hand!" a card popped out of Zeke's Deck.

"So what I'll activate my copy of Angelic Assistance!" Elliot tore three cards off the top of his Deck. "Yes I drew it and now I'll summon it my Spell Reactor RE!" the dragonic looking Machine flew out next to its brethren. (ATK 1200/DEF 900)

"Now I'll activate one of the effects of my Summon Reactor and send it and my Reactors to the Graveyard to Special Summon from my Graveyard my Flying Fortress SKY FIRE!" the three monsters started to glow and then shattering causing a huge fiery explosion. Something huge and very familiar to Zeke flew out of the explosion and started to stare down at him.

"Oh shit," Zeke gasped. The monster was as big as Ancient Gear Golem and looked twice as threatening. Its armor was dark green and its upper body looked like a military aircraft from World War Two. Its legs were unusually skinny and looked like they wouldn't be able to support the Machine's weight if it tried to stand on them. (ATK 3000/DEF 2500)

"I'll activate one of Sky Fire's effects and ditch a card to take out your Death Dragon, go Sharp Shooting!" he threw a card into his Graveyard and the turrets on Sky Fire's body took aim and unleashed a hail of bullets killing the monstrous Dragon.

"Sky Fire kill his Archfiend with Death Air Raid!" the military Machine slowly flew over Zeke and the Fiend. It dropped a large bomb that was about to blow the Archfiend to pieces when Zeke's face down card flipped open.

"Reveal face down card!" Zeke roared. "A Hero Emerges! So now you have to select a card in my hand and if it's a monster I get Special Summon it, otherwise it goes to the Graveyard, and since I'm only holding one card I'll just save you the trouble and Special Summon Infernity Guardian!" the blue shield filled with fire floated onto the field and the bomb exploded before it hit Infernity Archfiend. (ATK 1200/DEF 1700)

"That won't save you!" Elliot snarled. "Sky Fire continue your attack!" the bomber plane like Machine dropped another bomb this one hit its mark blowing Infernity Archfiend to atoms.

**(Zeke: 1900 – SPC: 7) - (Elliot: 2700 – SPC: 10)**

"So what'll you do now Zeke?" Elliot asked mockingly. "If you play anything I'll just blow it to bits with Sky Fire, and you can only play two things before you can't do anything!"

"Just shut up and end your turn," Zeke growled.

"Fine I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Elliot sneered. "You're going to die here Zeke, but at least you can say you went down fighting!"

**(Zeke: 1900 – SPC: 8) - (Elliot: 2700 – SPC: 11)**

"Well if I can't do anything I'll just have to set a card face down!" Zeke threw a card into his Duel Runner and smirked.

"Fool, Sky Fire, destroy it!" Sky Fire fired another bomb blowing Zeke's face down card to nothing.

**(Zeke: 1100 – SPC: 8) - (Elliot: 2700 – SPC: 11)**

"I'm the fool," Zeke chucked. "That was my Dummy Marker, so now I get to draw a card!"

Zeke stared at his Deck. _"I have one monster that could really help me, but I have to draw her now!"_ he thought slowly pulling the top card off his Deck. He looked at it for a second and grinned.

"And here I thought you hated me," he said quietly. "I'm taking down your monster right now!"

"Ha, funny declaration idiot, but I know nothing you could've drawn can save you, because if you drew Infernity Force I'll just destroy it!" Elliot laughed.

"No I drew my ace!" Zeke declared.

"What, I thought your Death Dragon was your ace monster!" Elliot gasped in terror.

"Nope, him and Hundred-Eyes Wyrm are just the top guards for her," Zeke said. "You may think Bat King is the ruler of the Infernity monsters but no they're ruled by a Queen, Infernity Queen Shinigami to be precise!" Infernity Guardian exploded in a fiery burst, from the flames rose a figure, she was covered from head to toe in a jet black robe with a pair of black feathered wings sticking out of her back, she wore sandals covering her skeletal feet, her head was covered by her hood but two silvery points could be seen, in her bony hand was a scythe with a wicked black serrated blade. (ATK 2900/DEF 2500)

"_Why have you called me out Zeke, I do not like fighting unless absolutely necessary, if you've called me out to deal with that annoying flower Dragon again, I'm going to rip both your arms off!"_ the new Infernity monster snarled.

"No my queen I've called you out to fight that!" Zeke explained pointing to Sky Fire. "So if you wouldn't mind helping me you can go back to resting, plus he's destroyed a great many of your subjects with simple war engines."

"In case you didn't notice you moron you monster is too weak to defeat mine, and you have no cards in your hand!" Elliot snickered.

"_Foolish mortal for daring to call me weak I shall make your death very slow and very painful!"_ the Queen hissed.

"Elliot she has more than one effect," Zeke smirked. "She actually has four, one being if she's the only card in my hand I can Advance Summon her with one release so long as that release is one of her subjects. Now I can choose to activate one of her other effects which can only be activated once per turn, and I'll choose to remove one of her subjects from the Graveyard to increase her attack points by half that monsters attack points, like my Night Emperor!" the Infernity Queen slashed with her scythe creating a rip in space and time, she reached into the hole and pulled out the Emperor's spirit and absorbed it into herself. (ATK 2900-4300/DEF 2500)

"Infernity Queen attack Sky Fire with Zero Slash!" the Queen Fiend's weapon started to burn with black fire. She spun it around until it seemed to become a burning wheel, then she hurled it at the Machine slicing clean through its chest. It exploded in a huge fireball.

**(Zeke: 1100 – SPC: 8) - (Elliot: 1400 – SPC: 10)**

"I'll end my turn," Zeke said. (ATK 4300-2900/DEF 2500)

**(Zeke: 1100 – SPC: 9) - (Elliot: 1400 – SPC: 11)**

Elliot drew and laughed. "I summon Black Salvo!" a large black bomb with a grinning face rolled onto the field. (ATK 100/DEF 1100) "Now thanks to its effect I can revive my Trap Reactor and I'll tune them together!"

"_The roar of the terrible engine is heard over the battlefield! Instilling fear and panic in the enemy ranks! Commence bombing raid, Dark Strike Fighter!"_

Black Salvo became three green rings that surrounded the Trap Reactor. It was reduced to framework and a burst of light was produced and something flew out of it. It was large red jet that quickly transformed into a humanoid robot. (ATK 2600/DEF 1800)

"Now I'll activate my face down card Explosive Charge, this allows me to summon an Explosive Token which is level six!" a small robot with a round body and a fuse sticking out of its head appeared. (ATK 800/DEF 800)

"Now I can release it and you'll take damage equal to 200 times its level which is 100 more that you have so die Zeke Kessler!" the Token dissolved into motes of light that were absorbed by Dark Strike Fighter. It then fired a blast of wind from the turbines on its shoulders.

"I remove Damage Eater from my Graveyard!" a small yellow creature with small wings and horn appeared and opened its maw swallowing the wind. It burst a second later and particles of light rained down on Zeke. "So I gain the damage I would've taken so thank you."

**(Zeke: 2300 – SPC: 9) - (Elliot: 1400 – SPC: 11)**

"Now would you be so kind as to end your turn, because I know that even if your Strike Fighter was strong enough, you aren't allow to attack with it the turn you activated its effect," Zeke asked with mock kindness.

Elliot looked stunned and terrified at the same time. He made no sounds and just stared ahead.

**(Zeke: 2300 – SPC: 10) - (Elliot: 1400 – SPC: 12)**

"I'll set a card face down and activate my Queen's effect and remove my Death Dragon!" the Queen again created the rift in the fabric of reality and pulled out the Dragon's spirit this time. (ATK 2900-4400/DEF 2500)

"Elliot take comfort in one fact, I take no pleasure in doing this," Zeke said. "But its either you or me, and I have to stop Archer. Infernity Queen attack with Zero Slash!" the Queen again threw her scythe, this time slicing the Machine in half.

**(Zeke: 2300 – SPC: 10) - (Elliot: 0 – SPC: 12)**

The darkness faded and Elliot's bike skidded to a halt throwing him off. Zeke jumped off his Runner and ran to check on his fallen foe. For the most part he was relatively ok, but his eyes were glazed over but he was still breathing.

Zeke pulled out his cell phone as he walked over to Elliot's bike. He pulled the Reactors out of the discard slot along with Sky Fire and then grabbed Dark Strike Fighter off the Runner itself. "So Archer claims another victim," he murmured. "Hopefully I can find you guys a better owner than this slime ball."

**Melissa: Well that's another one of Archer's goons taken down.**

**Reina: I still don't get why Rob doesn't have people out for revenge after him.**

**Josh: Maybe because you're boyfriend can be slightly abrasive.**

**Rob: Not that I care but that is really the pot calling the kettle black.**

**Vincent: Well it's Melissa's turn up next.**

**Xander: And she'll be facing me in Fearful Darkness!**

**Melissa: No it can't be….!**

**Original Cards**

Ancient Gear Fortress

Image: A large military base guarded by Ancient Gear Soldiers.

| Continuous Trap | Each time a monster is Normal Summoned or Set this card gains one counter. Face up 'Ancient Gear' monsters you control gain 100 attack points for every counter on this card. If you Advance Summon an 'Ancient Gear' monster you can use this card as a substitute for a release as long as the counters on this card are double the amount of releases necessary.

Ancient Gear Falcon

Earth | Level 3 | Machine/Effect | 800/800 | If this card attacks while you control another 'Ancient Gear' monster your opponent cannot activate Spell or Trap cards until the end of the Damage Step. If you control another face up 'Ancient Gear' monster this card may attack your opponent directly.

Ancient Gear Hound

Earth | Level 4 | Machine/Effect | 1300/1100 | All face up 'Ancient Gear' monsters you control gain 300 attack points.

Infernity Merchant

Dark | Level 2 | Fiend/Effect | 900/500 | If this card is discarded from your hand to the Graveyard you may add one 'Infernity' card from your Deck to your hand. If it is a monster you may not Summon or Set it this turn and if it is a Spell or Trap card you may not activate or Set it this turn.

Infernity Trooper

Dark | Level 3 | Zombie/Tuner | 1200/700 | If you have no cards in your hand and you only control 'Infernity' monsters you may Special Summon this card from your Graveyard. If you Special Summoned this card by this effect, when it is removed from the field it is removed from play.

Infernity Bat King

Dark | Level 6 | Fiend/Synchro/Effect | 2400/1700 | One 'Infernity' Tuner + one or more Dark Attribute non-Tuner monsters. As long as you have no cards in your hand 'Infernity' monsters you control cannot be targeted by your opponent's Trap cards.

Speed Spell – Level Trade In

Image: A person in a riding suit at a store exchanging Yellow Gadget for Red Gadget.

| Spell | Activate while you have four or more Speed Counters. Select one monster in your hand and return it to your Deck then select one monster in your Deck whose level is exactly the same as the returned monster and add it to your hand.

Speed Spell – High Speed Crash

Image: Three race cars, one red one blue and one green, the red one has just slammed into the wall.

| Spell | Activate when you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Destroy 1 card you control and 1 other card on the field.

(This card was first used by Yusei Fudo in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 72 creative credit goes to the writers of those episodes.)

Infernity Absorber

Dark | Level 3 | Fiend/Effect | 700/400 | If this card is the only card in your hand you may discard it when you would receive battle damage during your opponent's Battle Phase. The damage from any direct attack(s) this turn are reduced to zero and you gain the same amount of Life Points equal to the damage you would've taken.

Infernity Emperor of the Night

Dark | Level 9 | Fiend/Fusion/Effect | 2800/2300 | one 'Infernity' Synchro monster + one non-Synchro 'Infernity' monster. This card cannot be Special Summon from your Extra Deck except by Fusion Summon. If this card would be destroyed by card effect while you have no cards in your hand you may remove an 'Infernity' monster from your Graveyard to negate this card's destruction.

Speed Spell – Power Baton

Image: Swordstalker zapping a creature with energy from its sword.

| Spell | Activate when you have 6 or more Speed Counters. Send 1 Monster Card from your Deck to your Graveyard to have 1 monster you control gain ATK equal to the sent monster's ATK until the end of the next Damage Step. You cannot conduct your normal draw during your next Draw Phase.

(This card was first used by Kalin Kessler/Kyosuke Kiryu during episode 34 of Yu-gi-oh! 5D's all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Delta Reactor

Image: The three Reactor monsters in the foreground with Flying Fortress Sky Fire in the background.

| Trap | Send 1 "Trap Reactor・Y FI", "Spell Reactor・RE" and "Summon Reactor・SK" you control to the Graveyard. Special Summon 1 "Flying Fortress SKY FIRE" from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard, ignoring the Summoning conditions.

(This card was first used by Greiger/Bommer in episode 15 of Yu-gi-oh! 5D's all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Speed Spell – Returning Shadows

Image: A Red-Eyes Black Dragon emerging from a portal over two Turbo Duelists.

| Spell | Special Summon one Dark Attribute monster from your removed from play zone with a level that is equal to or lower than the number of Speed Counters you have. The monster is destroyed during the End Phase.

Speed Spell – Junkyard Fusion

Image: Two duelists riding through a junkyard with Cyber Twin Dragon and Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem rising out of two piles of scrap metal.

| Spell | Activate when you have seven or more Speed Counters. Select a Machine type Fusion monster in your Extra Deck and remove from your Graveyard the required Fusion Material monsters to Special Summon the select Fusion monster. (This is treated as a Fusion Summon.)

Spare Parts

Image: Several Mechanicalchasers using parts from a destroyed Perfect Machine King to build Machine King.

| Trap | Activate this card only when one of your Machine type monsters is destroyed by card effect. Special Summon from your Deck a Machine type monster with a lower level than the destroyed monster.

Forced Summoning

Image: Elemental Hero Sparkman and Avian confronting Destiny Hero Diamond Dude and Fear Monger.

| Trap | Activate this card only during your Main Phase. Both you and your opponent Special Summon one level four or lower monster from your Deck.

Infernity Queen Shinigami

Dark | Level 10 | Fiend/Effect | 2900/2500 | This card cannot be Special Summon. If this card is the only card in your hand you may Advance Summon this card by releasing an 'Infernity' monster you control. While you have no cards in your hand you may activate one of the following effects once per turn.

Remove one 'Infernity' monster from your Graveyard to increase this card's attack points by half the removed monster's attack points.

Special Summon one 'Infernity' from your Graveyard.

Explosive Charge

Image: An Explosive Token floating next to Dark Strike Fighter

| Trap | Activate only while you control either a 'Flying Fortress Sky Fire' or a 'Dark Strike Fighter. Special Summon an 'Explosive Token' (Machine type/Dark/Level 6/800 attack points/ 800 defense points). An Explosive Token cannot be used as a release for an Advance Summon.


	28. Ch28: Fearful Darkness

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Fearful Darkness

It was day four and Melissa was dueling someone in a Darkness Game. Her opponent had something called Masked Knight LV7. It was constantly inflicting 1500 points of damage to her every turn, and considering her Ultimate Psychicker had the same attack points as it. Her opponent had 2500 Life Points left and one card face down.

Melissa had her Psychic Fusion monster but it wasn't helping, she had 2900 Life Points and Teleport and a card face down. It was her turn.

"I activate Monster Reborn to resurrect my fallen Magical Android in attack mode!" from the ankh appeared Melissa's favourite monster. She glared angrily at Melissa's opponent.

"Now I'll set a card face down and end my turn which activates the effect of my Android increasing my Life Points by 1200!" Magical Android raised her staff and Melissa started to glow as her Life Points climbed to 3700.

"Foolish girl, you did exactly what I wanted you to do!" the person laughed. "I activate Distrain Card!" a large shard of a purple gemstone crashed down onto the card Melissa just set. "So now you can't activate that card and if you activate your other card you'll take 800 points of damage."

"Now my Masked Knight could inflict far more damage from his effect, but I really want to destroy your favourite card," the person laughed. "Masked Knight attack with Persona Big Slash!" the LV monster drew its sword and leapt into the air and plunged its sword into Magical Android's shoulder, she screamed and shattered, and Melissa's Life Points dropped to 3100.

"You really should've used your monsters effect because then I wouldn't have been able to activate this Psi-Curse!" Melissa's Life Points dropped to 2300 and then a blast of energy shot out of the card blowing Masked Knight LV7 to shards, the blast continued on striking the duelist and dropping their Life Points down to 1400.

"What just happened?" the person demanded.

"My Psi-Curse happened, and since you destroyed a Psychic type monster by battle the monster that attacked is destroyed and you take damage equal to the fallen Psychic type monster's level times 300," Melissa explained.

"I activate Soul Rope, so since one of my monsters bit the dust I can pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon a level four or lower monster from my Deck, and I'll choose my Queen's Knight!" the person's Life Points dipped to 400 and from the Trap card appeared a woman with blonde hair wearing red armor with playing card symbols. (ATK 1500/DEF 1600)

"The Poker Knights I didn't think anyone actually used them anymore," Melissa mused.

"Oh I've found a new way to use them that even the King of Games didn't know how to!" the person laughed. "Now I'll summon King's Knight!" another Warrior appeared this one in a flash of light, he wore gold coloured armor and carried a round shield. (ATK 1600/DEF 1400)

"Now since I control Queen's Knight when I Normal Summoned King's Knight I can call out Jack's Knight from my Deck!" in a brighter flash of light appeared another Poker Knight. This one wore blue armor with spade symbols on it. (ATK 1900/DEF 1000)

"Now I'll activate Fusion Sage and add Polymerization to my hand from my Deck!" an elderly man appeared and handed Melissa's opponent a card.

"Now I'll use it to bring my three Knights together!" a vortex appeared behind the three Knights and they jumped in. From the vortex stepped a tall man in fancy black armor wielding a broadsword. (ATK 3800/DEF 2500) "Meet Arcana Knight Joker, but don't let his name fool you he's deadly serious!"

"Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," the person chuckled evilly as the shard cracked and shattered.

Melissa drew and scowled and just then the person's face down card flipped open and a huge beast let loose a terrifying roar. "Thanks to my Threatening Roar you can't attack this turn," the person said.

Melissa looked at her face down card and scowled. "I'll move my Psychicker to defense mode and end my turn," she sighed.

"You fell right into my Trap," the person sneered. "I'll move my Knight Joker to defense mode then I activate my face down Zero Gravity!" both Fusion monsters were thrown into the air and came crashing down.

"Knight Joker attack her Psychicker with Thunder Blade!" electricity crackled around the Knight's sword and he slashed the mutant Psychic monster, it howled in agony and shattered and Melissa's Life Points dropped to 1400.

"I'll end my turn and if you're planning on defending I have Big Bang Shot in my hand," the person laughed. "You're finished so just surrender oh yes and I end my turn."

Melissa looked at her hand and then her face down card. If she had a strong enough monster she could win. But the likelihood of drawing a card that could help her was slim. "It all rides on this one draw," she muttered.

She looked at the card for a second and then grinned. "I summon my second Krebons!" the digital harlequin appeared and cackled. (ATK 1200/DEF 400)

"So you plan to stall for one turn, pathetic," the person spat.

"No I plan to win this turn and I'll activate my face down card…Battle Teleportation!" Krebons cackled and flew forward, right past the Knight. "This allows my Krebons to attack you directly, the catch if Krebons is yours when the Battle Phase is over, but that isn't going to happen, Krebons end this!" Krebons fired a blast of energy striking the duelist causing their Life Points to drop to zero.

"No!" they cried. "How could I be beaten by an amateur!" a second later the fog dispersed and the person collapsed.

Melissa breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. So far any of Archer's henchmen and women who'd challenged her had assumed she was some kind of beginner who barely knew how to duel.

After Security took the unconscious body away she went to a near by stand and bought an ice cream cone. She sat on a bench and started to eat. "Maybe I should've taken up building model ships, I'm doubtful the forces of evil would come after me then," she sighed.

"If I'd known what kinds of trouble I'd get into just because of these," she muttered looking at her Deck. "I'd have told me friends to take their cards back, and I wouldn't have insisted on going to Duel Academy."

"Oh well," she sighed. "No point dwelling on the past. I won't be able to advance in the tournament if I don't find opponents."

Several minutes later

Melissa had been riding along the highway for almost a half an hour. "Where is everybody, have they all been eliminated?" she asked.

She heard the roar of an engine and someone pulled up next to her. "Hello nice to meet you!" the person greeted cheerfully.

They were riding a dark green Runner that seemed to have bony white plates covering various places. _"To each there own I guess,"_ Melissa thought upon seeing the bike.

"Hello," she responded. "Are you in the tournament?"

"Yep and the name is Xander Norico, so do you want to duel?" Xander asked.

"Gladly," Melissa grinned. "Oh and I'm Melissa Yoshiro."

They both pressed a button on their console a familiar card appeared on the screen. _"Duel mode engaged,"_ the computerized voice said. _"Auto-pilot disabled."_

"Duel!" they both cried.

"I'm a gentleman so if you wish you can go first," Xander offered.

"Ok I think I will," Melissa said drawing her opening hand.

**(Melissa: 8000 – SPC: 0) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 0)**

"I'll start this duel off by summoning Telekinetic Shocker!" in a burst of electricity the dome headed Psychic monster appeared. (ATK 1700/DEF 700)

"Now I'll set a card face down and that'll be all," she said.

**(Melissa: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

"Not a bad opening move," Xander said. "It's unfortunate we had to meet," he muttered under his breath. "I'll start my move off by setting a face down monster and I'll follow it up with two face down cards, then I' done my move."

"Hold up before you end your turn I'm revealing my face down card!" Melissa shouted as her face down card flipped open. "Solemn Wishes, so now each time I draw from my Deck I'll gain 500 Life Points!"

Melissa pulled a card off her Deck and a small shower of rain fell over her.

**(Melissa: 8500 – SPC: 2) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"Ok Telekinetic Shocker attack his face down monster!" the Psychic fired a large bolt of electricity blowing a what appeared to be a turtle with light brown skin and a pyramid in place of a normal shell.

"Thank you," Xander grinned. "That was my Pyramid Turtle, and when he passes on to the afterlife I'm allowed to Special Summon a Zombie type monster so long as it has no more that 2000 defense points."

"Uh oh," Melissa muttered. "If I remember my searchers that thing had a huge list of monsters it can call out."

"Yep and I'm activating my two face down cards, first my Rebirth Judgement and my Michizure so you'll have to bid your Shocker, goodbye!" the ground split open and somehow Telekinetic Shocker fell into the crevice. "Now my Rebirth Judgement takes effect and all monsters in both our Graveyards become the type I declare, and I choose Zombies!"

"Figures," Melissa muttered.

"Ok so now my Pyramid Turtle's effect activates and I'll call forth the mighty Zombie Master!" the ground bust open and a youth in a tattered brown cloak with ash grey hair jumped out. (ATK 1800/DEF 0) "So are you going to make any other moves or end your turn?"

"I'll summon Psy-Gardna and because of his effect he automatically moves into defense mode!" in a burst of light appeared another armor wearing Psychic, this one carried a large shield in each hand. (ATK 800/DEF 1900) "Then I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

**(Melissa: 8500 – SPC: 3) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 3)**

"Ok I'm going to activate my Zombie Master's special ability and send a monster from my hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon a Zombie of level four or lower from the Graveyard!" Xander smirked.

"But don't worry the monster I'm sending to the Graveyard is not one you'd want to summon, it's a little guy called Necro Caller and its effect allows me to add a weak Zombie type monster from my Deck to my hand, so long as I don't summon or set it," he explained. "So I'll use my Zombie Master's effect to revive your Telekinetic Shocker!" the youth cackled and raised his hands, purple energy cracked around them and Telekinetic Shocker burst out of the ground, its suit was in poor condition and its helmet was dented and cracked.

A card popped out of Xander's Deck and then he selected another monster and slammed it down onto his Duel Runner. "Now I'll release your Shocker to call out Malevolent Mech – Goku En!" Telekinetic Shocker suddenly burst into flames and was quickly reduced to ashes. From the ashes rose a horrifying creature, it looked like a beast made of solidified ash with blue flames spewing out from its joints, wings and chest. (ATK 2400/DEF 1400)

"Goku En attack her Gardna with Ashen Flames!" the beast roared and breathed a blast of fire that struck the hapless Psychic monster incinerating it.

"I activate my face down card!" Melissa cried. "Telepathic Power, so now your Goku En is destroyed and I gain Life Points equal to its attack points!" before Psy-Gardna was reduced to ash it fired a burst of energy from its hand, it struck Goku En blowing it to atoms and causing Melissa to glow with energy.

**(Melissa: 10900 – SPC: 3) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 3)**

"Heh, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Xander chuckled.

"That wasn't funny," Melissa said.

"Oh well no matter," Xander shrugged. "Zombie Master attack her directly with Necro Spell!" Zombie Master cackled and unleashed a blast of purple energy that struck Melissa. She shrieked in pain.

**(Melissa: 9100 – SPC: 2) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 3)**

"That….that really hurt," Melissa gasped. "This is a Darkness Turbo Duel!"

"Yes Melissa it is," Xander said. "But I have worse news for you, I'm Archer's top duelist and other than him and his second in command no one has ever managed to defeat me, some have come close but none have succeeded!"

"And let me guess you're going to tell me I should just give up because there's no way I can possible be the one who will defeat you?" Melissa growled.

"Nope," Xander laughed. "You might want to surrender to spare yourself any unnecessary pain, but I'm doubtful you'll believe me, plus who knows maybe you will defeat me!"

"But for now I'll end my turn with a face down card," he said.

Melissa drew and again rain fell down on her, this time it alleviated some of the pain from the last attack.

**(Melissa: 9600 – SPC: 3) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 4)**

"I'll summon my Psy-Knight!" in a burst of electricity the cyborg knight jumped onto the field and drew his weapon. (ATK 1700/DEF 1400) He made a slash creating a portal above him.

"Now thanks to his effect I can Special Summon a level four or lower Psychic type monster from my Deck like my Mind Master!" from the portal appeared a saucer shaped creature with a brain inside a jar and two long cables with robotic hands on the end. (ATK 100/DEF 200)

"That thing is a Tuner," said Xander. "So you're going to summon Magical Android."

"No, actually I'm going activate my Knight's other effect and Special Summon my Mind Protector from my hand at the cost of 600 Life Points!" the cyborg knight slashed again creating another portal. This time the golden armored Psychic jumped out and electricity sparked off it and struck Melissa. (ATK 0/DEF 2200)

**(Melissa: 9000 – SPC: 3) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 4)**

"Now I'll tune my level one, Mind Master with my level three, Mind Protector and my level four, Psy-Knight!" she roared.

"_So begins a new era of technological advances! Ruled over by the supreme Psychic master! Appear and engrave your appearance upon my enemies mind Psy-King!"_

Mind Master floated into the air and became a singular green ring. The two other Psychic monsters jumped through the ring and were reduced to framework. The explosion of light was so bright Xander had to cover his eyes. The monster that appeared was an elderly looking man with a long white beard wearing futuristic armor and holding two energy swords. (ATK 2800/DEF 2100)

"Attack with Twin Psychic Swords!" the monster roar and leapt into the air and cut Zombie Master into four pieces with his blades.

**(Melissa: 9000 – SPC: 3) - (Xander: 7000 – SPC: 3)**

"I'm going to end my turn with a face down card," Melissa said. "But Xander I have to ask why?"

"Why what," Xander responded sounding confused.

"Why did you join Archer?" she asked. "Do you have something against someone in our group like Talia, or are you just like Aaron Zebel and you like hurting people."

Xander scowled and looked down. "Well no have no grudges against you or any of your friends," he muttered. "And I don't particularly enjoy causing people pain and suffering, I did enjoy beating Zebel into the ground, mainly because how he assaulted you and Alexandria Trudge, no I'm working for Archer because I owe him, long story short he helped me get revenge on people who took away someone close to me!"

"But let's continue the duel!" he laughed. "I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" he tore two cards off his Deck then threw a single card into the Graveyard.

"The guy I just threw into the Graveyard was called Mezuki and he has a handy effect I can remove him from play to Special Summon a Zombie from my Graveyard!" the card fell out of the Graveyard and Zombie Master burst out of the ground with a chilling laugh.

"Now I summon the ever useful Plaguespreader Zombie!" another creature burst out of the road, this one was some hideous combination of various undead animals stitched together into a twisted vaguely humanoid shape. (ATK 400/DEF 200)

"Now I'll tune my level two, Plaguespreader Zombie and my level four, Zombie Master…," Xander said.

"_Break free from the bonds that keep you locked in the deepest reaches of Hell! Lay waste to the land of the living and utterly annihilate everything in your path! Burn it all, Deathkaiser Dragon!"_

Plaguespreader Zombie groaned and was torn apart as the two Synchro gates flew out of it. They surrounded Zombie Master who only cackled as he was reduced to orange framework. The monster that appeared was a large grey skinned dragon like creature with a glowing orange core. (ATK 2400/DEF 1500)

"Well that was totally pointless, your monster is too weak," Melissa said.

"Yes but he does have an effect," Xander grinned. The undead dragon roared and slammed its tail into the ground. It split open and Telekinetic Shocker crawled out. "You see when he is Special Summoned I can Special Summon a Zombie type monster from your Graveyard, and thanks to my Rebirth Judgement they all are!"

"I really don't see how that'll help unless….," Melissa gasped.

"Yes I activate my face down card Necro Absorption!" Telekinetic Shocker groaned as a ball of white mist flew out of its chest and into the core in Deathkaiser's chest. (ATK 2400-4100/DEF 1500) "As you clearly see this allows me to release a monster on my side of the field and then increase the attack points of a single Zombie type monster by the released monster's attack points!"

"Deathkaiser show her King who's the better ruler with Yomi Flare!" the undead ruler roared and spewed a blast of grey flames that engulfed the Psychic monarch.

**(Melissa: 7700 – SPC: 3) - (Xander: 7000 – SPC: 4)**

"Now I'll set a card face down and that'll be all," Xander said. (ATK 4100-2400/DEF 1500)

**(Melissa: 8200 – SPC: 4) - (Xander: 7000 – SPC: 5)**

Melissa looked at the cards in her hand and a plan started to form. "I summon Destructotron!" in a burst of electricity appeared the four legged television headed Psychic. (ATK 1600/DEF 400)

"Well unless that face down card boost his attack points to at least 2450 then he'll just die like your other monsters have," Xander smirked. "And clearly it can't do that or you would've saved your King!"

"Nope it can't boost attack points," Melissa said with a grin. "But it won't need to, reveal face down card! Call of the Haunted!" from the ground burst Psy-King and he looked pissed.

"Now I'll activate Destructotron's effect and destroy your face down card!" Destructotron cackled and raised his hand.

"Reverse card open Synchro Barrier!" Deathkaiser Dragon split into six green rings that formed a shield in front of Xander. "I simply have to release a Synchro monster and for this turn only I take no damage! But I have to ask why didn't have to pay any Life Point to activate Destructotron's effect?"

"Look at my Psy-King," Xander looked and noticed a formerly not glowing rune on Psy-King's armor was lit up. "Once per turn during either player's turn if I would have to pay Life Points or take damage from a Psychic monster's effect I instead place an Energy Counter on my Psy-King instead."

"Interesting," Xander chuckled. "I must admit you are more skilled than some of Archer's henchmen seemed to think you were, since their souls were removed they clearly were fools."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Melissa muttered. "Well since I can't cause you any damage I'll just end my turn."

**(Melissa: 8200 – SPC: 5) - (Xander: 7000 – SPC: 6)**

Xander looked over his cards and scowled. "I'm just going to set a monster face down along with a face down card," he said.

**(Melissa: 8700 – SPC: 6) - (Xander: 7000 – SPC: 7)**

"I activate Destructotron's effect and Psy-King's effect so your face down card is gone!" Destructotron raised its hand and fired another sphere of energy.

"I'll chain it!" Xander cried. "Go Dust Tornado, and I'll destroy….your Solemn Wishes!" the debris filled twister flew across the field and shattered Melissa's Trap card.

"Damn it," Melissa swore. "Ok, Destructotron attack his face down monster!" the robotic monster cackled and fired a bolt of electricity blowing a hideous looking Zombie holding a sword to atoms.

"Thank you for destroying my Goblin Zombie," Xander smirked. "Now I can add a Zombie type monster with 1200 or less defense points to my hand from my Deck!" a card popped out of his gauntlet.

"Ok, Psy-King attack him directly!" the Psychic ruler let loose a fierce battle cry and then he flew at Xander and slashed at his bike.

**(Melissa: 8700 – SPC: 6) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 5)**

"You know I'm starting to have trouble believing that you're Archer's top duelist," Melissa said. "I mean look at our Life Points and sides of the field."

"Yes but both of those things can change very easily," Xander smirked. "Soon I'll show you proof that I'm the top duelists of Archer's henchmen!"

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Melissa said.

**(Melissa: 8700 – SPC: 7) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 6)**

"I'm going to start this turn off by activating a useful Spell card," Xander declared. "It's called Speed Spell – D.D. Rebirth! Since my Speed Counters are at five or higher I'm now allowed to select and Special Summon one of my removed from play monsters, like Mezuki!" a tear opened above Xander and from it jumped a Zombie with the body of a human and the legs and head of a horse, it held an axe. (ATK 1700/DEF 800)

"Then I'll follow it up with Speed Spell – Meek Rebirth, since my Speed Counters are at three or higher I can bring Plaguespreader Zombie back!" the mishmash Zombie pulled itself out of the ground.

"Now I'll tune my level two, Plaguespreader Zombie and my level four, Mezuki together…," Xander smirked.

"_The wicked King who fell from grace, to rule in the realm of the damned, will awaken and devastate all those before him! Synchro Summon and be reborn, Revived King Ha Des!"_

The mishmash Zombie moaned and exploded once again becoming two green rings that surrounded Mezuki. The horse headed Zombie was reduced to framework and a burst of light, much to Melissa's confusion was produced. When it faded Melissa gasped, because standing right before her was Dark Ruler Ha Des, only his robes were tattered and his skin was grey. (ATK 2450/DEF 0)

"That's Zeke's Dark Ruler Ha Des!" Melissa cried.

"I guess you could say that," Xander chuckled. "You see Melissa, Plaguespreader Zombie's are odd little guys, no one knows who they work for but they occasionally travel to the land of the living and infect creatures, and when those creatures die they are reborn as the living dead! But as I said no one has a clue why they do this, this Ha Des doesn't serve anyone."

"But enough talk!" he shouted. "Ha Des annihilate her Destructotron with Ultimate Killing Technique!" Ha Des cackled and raised one hand, he pointed at the robotic Psychic and his index finger started to glow.

"Hold on I remove Psy-Gardna to negate my monster's destruction by battle!" Psy-Gardna appeared and smacked Ha Des with his shield.

**(Melissa: 7850 – SPC: 7) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 6)**

"Oh well I'll end my turn with a face down card followed by Speed Spell – Angelic Assistance!" Xander's Deck glowed and he pulled three cards off the top.

**(Melissa: 7850 – SPC: 8) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 7)**

"I'll activate Destructotron's effect and place a third Energy Counter on Psy-King!" Destructotron seemed to shrug its shoulders and raised its hand. It fired a blast of energy blowing the face down card to shards.

"Thank you," Xander sneered.

"Wait you're thanking me, but why…?" Melissa asked only to be interrupted when a tornado engulfed Psy-King blowing him to shards.

"The face down card you destroyed was called Wild Tornado and since it was destroyed while face down I can destroy any face up card on the field," Xander smirked.

A blast of energy struck Melissa and she gritted her teeth in pain. "My Psy-King's effect activated and I now take 600 points of damage for every Energy Counter on it."

**(Melissa: 6050 – SPC: 7) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 7)**

"I'll move Destructotron to defense mode and end my turn," she sighed.

**(Melissa: 6050 – SPC: 8) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 8)**

"I summon Paladin of Cursed Dragon!" Melissa had never actually seen a Paladin of White Dragon but if she did she know that this monster looked like an undead version of it. (ATK 1900/DEF 1200)

"Paladin attack her Destructotron with Undead Spear Burst!" the Zombie Dragon and its rider flew forward at breakneck speed. They were cloaked in a swirling vortex of energy they flew right through Destructotron blowing him to smithereens.

"Ha Des attack her directly with Ultimate Killing Technique!" Ha Des sneered and pointed at Melissa. She gasped and held her chest as her heart seemed to skip a beat.

**(Melissa: 3600 – SPC: 6) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 8)**

"Do you need anymore proof that I'm the best Archer has?" Xander asked sarcastically.

"No I'm pretty much convinced," Melissa muttered. "But I'm not going to just quit!"

"Good, that would be boring," Xander said. "Fight and die with honor!"

"Oh yes and I'll end my turn," he said.

**(Melissa: 3600 – SPC: 7) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 9)**

"I'll set a monster in and a card face down and then I'll and my turn," Melissa said.

**(Melissa: 3600 – SPC: 8) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 10)**

"Ha Des attack her face down monster with Ultimate Killing Technique!" Ha Des pointed and a monster in futuristic armor holding two flag appeared and shattered.

"That was my Psy-Signaller and since it was destroyed by battle I get to…," Melissa began to say, only to blink in confusion and look at her Deck. "Wait what's going on why isn't my monster's effect activating?"

"Don't you know the regular Ha Des' effect?" Xander asked.

"Actually the only time I saw Zeke use it, it was destroyed really quickly," Melissa chuckled. "And I don't know much about Fiends."

A drop of sweat rolled down the back of Xander and Ha Des' head. "Well it negates the effects of monsters that are destroyed in battle with any of my Zombies. Paladin attack her directly!" the undead knight and his mount charged forward.

"Activate Negate Attack!" a familiar swirling shield appeared and the knight's attack bounced off it. "I doubt I need to explain this card."

"I'll set two cards face down and that'll be all for this turn," Xander sighed.

**(Melissa: 3600 – SPC: 9) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 11)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Sonic Reborn!" in a burst of sound what looked like a familiar Ankh appeared beside Melissa. "This is more or less a Speed Spell version of Monster Reborn and I'll use it to bring back Mind Master!" the brain in a glass chamber appeared and Xander arched an eyebrow.

"Now I'll use it to Advance Summon!" Melissa shouted. "I call forth my Overdrive Teleporter!" Mind Master vanished and was replaced with the purple haired Psychic summoner. (ATK 2100/DEF 1200)

"Now I'll give up 2000 Life Points to activate my monster's effect and I'll use it to Special Summon my second Mind Protector and my Psychic Commander!" Overdrive Teleporter held its arms out and created two portals.

**(Melissa: 1600 – SPC: 9) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 11)**

The first monster that appeared was a familiar golden armored Psychic monster, it quickly held its hands up to defend itself. The second was the Psychic military officer standing in the UFO. (ATK 1400/DEF 800)

"Now I'll tune my level three, Psychic Commander and my level six, Overdrive Teleporter…!"

"_The ultimate perfection of technology blasts its way through any obstacle, with a sleek form surging with pure power! Synchro Summon and open fire Hyper Psychic Blaster!"_

Psychic Commander flew into the air and became three green rings. Overdrive Teleporter jumped into the rings and was transformed into orange framework. From the burst of light descended Melissa's ace monster. (ATK 3000/DEF 2500)

"Hyper Psychic Blaster destroy his Paladin with Psychic Beam Barrage!" Hyper Psychic Blaster raised its arms as its weapons began to charge.

"_Preparing to annihilate target,"_ it said. _"Target locked blasters at full power, FIRE!"_ the knight or his mount didn't even get a chance to cry out as they were blasted to ashes.

**(Melissa: 1600 – SPC: 9) - (Xander: 3100 – SPC: 10)**

"Heh, ha, ha, ha you've managed to really impress me!" Xander laughed. "And that means I'm going to call out my ace!"

"You mean your Wicked God right?" Melissa asked.

"Wait you knew!" Xander gasped.

"Zeke told me and Rob what happens when you duel someone with a Wicked God, a Darkness Game different from any other happens," she sighed. "Plus as you said you're Archer's top duelist so it makes sense, unfortunately."

"Yes so do you end your turn?" he asked.

Melissa looked at her cards and nodded.

**(Melissa: 1600 – SPC: 10) - (Xander: 3100 – SPC: 11)**

"I activate my own copy of Sonic Rebirth and use it to bring back Deathkaiser!" from the ankh appeared the undead dragon looking Zombie.

"Now I'll activate the card that sealed Zebel's demise! Reveal face down card Assault Mode Activate!" the emperor of the dead roared as it was engulfed in light. The light faded and as with all Assault Mode monsters Xander's had changed.

It now had a face on its chest, the core was in the face's forehead. Its wings had become a cross between angelic and demonic, it had also grown arms. (ATK 2900/DEF 2000)

"Ugh, I think that thing just redefined ugly," Melissa said.

"Mock him as much as you want because his effect activate and I can Special Summon any number of Zombies from either of our Graveyard!" two creatures burst out of the ground. They were Zombie Master and Paladin of Cursed Dragon. "But I'll stick with these two."

The sky started to darken and thunder rolled and lightning flashed. Xander held up a single card and smirked. "Come forth into a new era dark God who has been sealed away! Unleash you aura of pure terror so mighty the Gods themselves quake! Awaken The Wicked Dreadroot!" Ha Des, Zombie Master and Paladin of Cursed Dragon dissolved into grains of black light. The light started to swirl around forming a large black portal.

Words had totally left Melissa as she saw what emerged from the portal. It was a gigantic Fiend with huge demonic wings. Its skin was dark green and on its arms were bony plates, and on its head was what looked like the skill of an even more evil demon. (ATK 4000/DEF 4000)

"It has 4000 attack and defense points!" Melissa screamed.

"It only gets worse for you," Xander sneered. "The Wicked Dreadroot it so terrifying that it emits an aura of fear so powerful that all other monsters lose half their attack and defense points!" the massive demon roared and everything else cringed in terror. (ATK 0/DEF 2200-1100) (ATK 3000-1500/DEF 2500-1250) (ATK 2900-1450/DEF 2000-1000)

"Dreadroot destroy her Hyper Psychic Blaster and end this duel with Fears Knockdown!" the Dreadroot roared and threw its fist forward. It slammed into the robotic Psychic smashing it to pieces.

**(Melissa: 3100 – SPC: 8) - (Xander: 3100 – SPC: 11)**

"Wait what!" Xander shouted. "You still have Life Points!"

"My other face down was Nutrient Z," Melissa grinned sheepishly. "Since I would've taken 2000 or more points of damage I gained 4000 Life Points before I took the hit."

"You're persistent," Xander chuckled. "Unfortunately I do not admire that! And I know what your Mind Protector's effect is so I'll end my turn."

**(Melissa: 3100 – SPC: 9) - (Xander: 3100 – SPC: 12)**

Melissa drew and scowled. "I can't possibly beat that thing," she sighed. _"But maybe I can defend until I come up with a plan."_

"I'll set a monster and end my turn."

**(Melissa: 3100 – SPC: 10) - (Xander: 3100 – SPC: 12)**

"Dreadroot attack her Mind Protector with Fears Knockdown!" the giant demon raised its fist and prepared to crush Melissa's monster. "And I'll activate Strike Slash! It'll empower my Dreadroot by 700 attack points and wait for it…piercing effect!" the Dreadroot's fist started to glow red and it punched Melissa's monster and the fist continued heading for her Runner.

**(Melissa: 0 – SPC: 10) - (Xander: 3100 – SPC: 12)**

Just as every started to go dark she felt herself being yanked off her Runner. She looked over her shoulder to see a large Warrior in dark green with a forked staff and huge shoulder pads holding onto her.

Xander arched an eyebrow as Zeke and Reina's Duel Runner's flew past him. "Mel!" they screamed.

"She's gone you know," Xander said.

The Dreadroot faded away as Melissa's bike smashed into the ground. "Give our friend's soul back!" Reina screamed as she, Zeke and Xander skidded to a halt.

"Ha, are you insane," Xander laughed. "I don't even know how Archer collects the souls to begin with. If you want her soul back then you'll have to beat down Archer and to get to him you'll have get past Talia then me!"

"Xander Norico," Zeke growled. "Former best duelist in the Underground League until it collapsed three years ago."

"I feel honored," Xander chuckled. "The mighty Zeke Kessler knows about me, but I have to ask how, and how did you find us?"

"When the Underground collapsed three years ago you went on the run," Zeke said. "There was an article about you in the Daily Duel, you and several others escaped but you were the only one who was never caught! And we found you because some guy with white hair and a bad attitude told us you'd be here"

"So you've gone from being a murderer to a thug working for Archer!" Reina snarled.

"Who told you I was a murderer?" Xander asked. "During my whole time in the Underground I never killed one person, I just harmed them severally!"

"So you just take pleasure in cause others pain?" Reina hissed.

"Nope," Xander snickered. "In the Underground it's either win and or lose and lose everything you hold dear. I'd already lost everything I held dear, so I couldn't be defeated! I was a king, but Archer helped me become even stronger!"

He spun around and smirked. "We'll meet in the finals if you want to save your friend you'll have to beat me!" he laughed before driving off.

"Come on Zeke we have to get Mel to a hospital," Reina said.

"Ya I know," he sighed. "I wish we could've helped her."

"Yugi Muto's biography didn't yield much information on those things," she said. "But we know they aren't unstoppable, they've been weakened by being sealed up, that gives us an advantage Yugi didn't have."

"We can destroy them with card effects," Zeke grinned. "We just have to make it to the finals."

**Rob: No Melissa was defeated!**

**Vincent: By a Wicked God no less.**

**Melissa: …**

**Reina: Damn it!**

**Zeke: Well next time Alexandria's getting a chance to face off against one of Josh's old enemies.**

**Alexandria: Wait what!**

**Reina: It's called Infestation don't miss it folks.**

**Josh: Kick this loser to the curb!**

A/N: Sorry this took so long folks.

**Original Cards**

Masked Knight LV7

Earth | Level 7 | Warrior/Effect | 2900/1800 | This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by the effect of "Masked Knight LV5". Once per turn, you can inflict 1500 damage to your opponent.

(This card was first used by Gill Randsborg/Jill deLauncebeaux in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 16 all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Distrain Card

Image: Three face down cards lined but, the middle one has a chunk of purple gemstone embedded in it.

| Spell | Activate only when your opponent controls 2 or more Set cards in their Spell & Trap Card Zone. Select 1 of them. It cannot be activated this turn. This turn, inflict 800 damage to your opponent each time they activate a Set Spell or Trap Card.

(This card was first used by Lazar/Jeager in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 44 all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Rebirth Judgement

Image: Man with half his face exposed to show robotics underneath.

| Continuous Trap | When you activate this card, declare 1 Type. All monsters in any Graveyard become the declared Type.

(This card was first used by Zane Truesdale/Ryo Marufuji in Yu-gi-oh! GX episode 95 all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Psy-Gardna

Earth | Level 4 | Psychic/Effect | 800/1900 | When this card is Normal Summoned it is automatically moved to defense mode. You may remove this card from your Graveyard during damage calculation to negate the destruction by battle of a Psychic type monster you control.

Necro Caller

Dark | Level 2 | Zombie/Effect | 600/0 | When this card is sent to the Graveyard by any way except as a result of battle you may add one level four or lower Zombie type monster from your Deck to your hand. You may not Normal Summon or Set the selected monster this turn.

Psy-King

Earth | Level 8 | Psychic/Synchro/Effect | 2800/2100 | 1 Psychic type Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Psychic type monster(s). Once per turn if you would take damage or pay Life Points to activate the effect of a Psychic type monster you may instead place an 'Energy Counter' on this monster. When this card is removed from the field you take 600 points of damage for every 'Energy Counter' that was on this monster.

Necro Absorption

Image: Revived King Ha Des sucking the soul out of D.D.M. – Different Dimension Master.

| Trap | Select one Zombie type monster you control and release another monster you control and increase the attack points of the selected monster by the original attack points of the released monster.

Speed Spell – D.D. Revival

Image: D.D. Warrior Lady jumping out of a portal that's above a Duel Runner.

| Spell | Activate while you have 5 or more Speed Counters. Special Summon one monster that is removed from play, it is destroyed during the End Phase.

Speed Spell – Meek Rebirth

Image: Key Mace appearing in a flash of light next to a Duel Runner.

| Spell | Activate while you have 3 or more Speed Counters. Special Summon one level two or lower monster from either Graveyard, it is destroyed during the End Phase of this turn.

Psy-Signaller

Earth | Level 3 | Psychic/Effect | 1100/900 | When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard you may add one level four or lower Psychic type monster from your Deck to your hand. When this card is destroyed by card effect and sent to the Graveyard you may add one Psychic type monster from your Deck to your hand.

Speed Spell – Sonic Reborn

Image: Colossal Fighter jumping out of a silver version of the Monster Reborn ankh.

| Spell | Activate while you have 7 or more Speed Counters. Special Summon one monster from your Graveyard.


	29. Ch29: Infestation

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Infestation

(A/N: From this point onward I'm going to display star level.)

It was still day four and Josh was in a bad mood. He was late for a date with Alexandria and was currently stuck in a Darkness Game.

"Hurry up and make your move already I have places to go and someone to see!" the blond duelist snarled.

"You won't be going anywhere Josh," his opponent laughed. "My Fortune Telling Witches are going to destroy you!"

"I'll tell you what I've told all of Archer's other goons," Josh hissed. "The day I'm beaten by one of you wannabe losers is the day I sell Red Dragon!"

"I've got you beaten and you know it!" the person sneered. "Thanks my Miracle Stone my three girls are as strong as a Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Josh's opponent had Fortune Telling Witch En, Ann and Swee each being powered up by the previously mentioned Spell card. They also had a face down card. And their Life Points were at 4500.

Josh had his last Troop Dragon and Golem Dragon as well as a face down card of his own. His Life Points were at 5000.

"En, Swee attack his two Dragons!" the super deformed Spellcasters unleashed a wave of red and blue energy respectively blowing the two Dragons to atoms. "An attack his Life Points directly!" the last Spellcaster fired a beam of dark energy. It struck Josh causing him to scream and fly back as his Life Points dropped to 2000.

Josh groaned and got to his feet. "You call that an attack," he sneered. "Heh, I've taken direct attacks from weaker monsters that hurt more than that!"

"Shut up," his opponent snarled. "I've got you beat and your ego is just too big for you to realize it. And I'll end my turn."

Josh drew and grinned. "Perfect I have everything I need to take you down."

"That has got to be the worst bluff I've ever heard!" his opponent laughed. "I've already destroyed your Red Dragon and you don't have any monster's that are stronger than him!"

"You're right about that," the Dragon duelist smirked. "But I have a monster that's just as strong! And I'm activating my Call of the Haunted and reviving Red Dragon!" the ground burst open and Josh's ace monster flew out and roared. (ATK 3000/DEF 2000)

"Now I'll summon my Magna Drago!" the arrow headed Dragon flew next to larger Dragon and hissed at Josh's opponent. (ATK 1400/DEF 600) "Now I'll tune them both together to Synchro Summon my original ace!" Magna Drago propelled itself into the air with Red Dragon right behind.

"_All those who dare to oppose the king will face his most deadly minion! His burning soul decimating all who stand before him! Synchro Summon incinerate it all, Trident Dragion!"_

Magna Drago transformed into two Synchro gates and Red Dragon flew through them becoming transparent. A huge burst of flames erupted around Josh and his opponent stepped back in terror as a huge form rose up in the flames. It roared causing them to disperse. The monster was a large serpentine Dragon with dark red scales and three heads. (ATK 3000/DEF 2800)

"Say hello and goodbye to Trident Dragion, and since I Synchro Summoned him I can destroyed up to two cards on my side of the field like my Call of the Haunted!" the giant Dragon spat a small fireball burning the card to ashes. "And now for this turn he gains an additional attack!"

Josh's opponent quickly regained their composure. "Like that matters your monster is no stronger than any of mine, and next turn I'll summon another one and they'll be as strong as Obelisk the Tormenter!"

"Except for one small problem with that plan," Josh said. "I'm activating Giant Trunade! So now all Spell and Trap cards are returned to their owner's hand.

Josh's opponent's eyes nearly bugged out of their head as a powerful wind kicked up getting rid of the two cards in their back row. The three Spellcasters shrunk down to their original size and their attack points dropped down to zero. "No this is impossible!" they screamed.

"Oh but it's very possible," Josh sneered. "Trident Dragion annihilate two of those monsters with Rage Stream!" the three headed Synchro monster let out a growl and each head breathed a wave of fire incinerating two of the tiny Spellcasters and dropping Josh's opponent's Life Points down to zero.

They said nothing and pitched forward. Josh pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialled Security. "I'll have to call Alexandria and tell her why I'm late I hope she's not too mad."

Elsewhere

Alexandria sighed and looked at her watch. "I don't know why he wanted to go on a date while a tournament was going on," she mumbled. "He must a gotten involved in a Darkness Game, I hope he's ok."

"Oh he most certainly is not ok," a voice said.

"Oh hello Brian," Alexandria said casually. "What do you want? Are you going to apologize to Josh so you can rejoin our crew?"

"Ha you're kidding right?" Brian laughed. "No I've joined Archer and he's given me something I never had before, POWER!" he shouted as purple fog started to surround the two.

"I should've figured you try and get your revenge eventually," Alexandria mused as she activated her Duel Disk.

"Revenge," Brian said raising an eyebrow. "No I'm not out for revenge, in fact I should thank Josh, and if he hadn't beaten me I never would've been approached by Talia."

"Whatever let's just get your butt kicking underway!" Alexandria shouted.

"Duel!" they both cried.

**(Alexandria: 8000) - (Brian: 8000)**

"I'll be making the first move," Brian declared. "Because chivalry is dead, and I'll simply set a monster face down and that'll be all."

Alexandria looked puzzled. _"Did he get a bad hand, or maybe that's Skull-Mark Ladybug. No matter I'll just blast it and find out."_

"I'm going to summon Magical Exemplar!" in a burst of light appeared a woman in green robes with brown hair and a fairly serene look on her face. (LV 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1400) "Then I'll follow that up by activating Spell Absorption!" a ball of light floated out of the Spell card and in front of Alexandria. Two balls of light appeared and started to circle Magical Exemplar.

"Now…." Alexandria began before being interrupted.

"I know what Spell Absorption does you'll gain 500 Life Points every time an activated Spell card resolves, but why'd your Exemplar gain two counters?" Brian explained.

"Each time a Spell card is activated she gains two Spell counters," Alexandria said. "Those will be useful later. For now Exemplar destroy his face down card with Luminous Spell!" the female Spellcaster raised her hand and fired a small burst of light blowing a cartoonish looking Insect with a brown exoskeleton.

"Thank you that was my Gokipon and since he bit the dust I get an Insect with 1500 or less attack points added to my hand," Brian chuckled as a card slid out of his Deck.

"Ok I'll just end my turn with a face down card," a single reversed card appeared next to Spell Absorption.

Brian drew and smirked. "I activate Graceful Charity, I hope I don't need to explain this card," he said as the angel of charity appeared. He handed her two cards and she flew into the Graveyard and Alexandria's Spell card started to glow.

**(Alexandria: 8500) - (Brian: 8000)**

"Now I'll remove my Gokipon to bring forth Aztekipede, the Worm Warrior!" the ground exploded and a large green centipede, not a worm appeared. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 400)

"Aztekipede…!" Brian shouted.

"Hold up I activate Spellbinding Circle!" a strange circle with runes written inside appeared around Aztekipede. "Your Worm Warrior can no longer attack or changes battle modes."

"Not a bad move," Brian mused. "But I knew you'd do something like that so I'll activate my Multiplication of Ants!" Aztekipede dissolved into grains of light and two large ants appeared in its place. (LV4/ATK 500/DEF 1200) x2

**(Alexandria: 9000) - (Brian: 8000)**

"This allows me to Special Summon two Army Ant Tokens," Brian explained. "They both have 500 attack points and 1200 defense points, they're in defense mode and they're four star monsters."

"You do realize you keep helping me right?" the Fortune Lady duelist asked.

"Sometimes that's how it works," Brian sneered. "I'll end my turn by setting a monster and a card face down."

Alexandria drew and grinned. "I'm going to activate my Magical Exemplar's effect and remove two of her six Spell Counters to Special Summon Night's End Sorcerer!" two of the orbs of light shatter and in a burst of darkness appeared a young boy with light brown hair wearing a tattered brown cloak and carrying a large scythe. (LV4/ATK 1300/DEF 400) He turned and Magical Exemplar and smiled.

"And he's a tuner monster!" she exclaimed. "So I'll tune my level two, Night's End Sorcerer and my level four, Magical Exemplar!"

"_From the swirling vortex of magical energy appears a sorceress wielding an amazing power! Synchro Summon appear, Tempest Magician!"_

Something extremely unusual happened, instead of becoming rings Night's End Sorcerer merely handed his scythe to Magical Exemplar and then he vanished. The female Spellcaster started to glow and her hair turned more of a grey colour and her clothes turned a darker green. (LV6/ATK 2200/DEF 1400)

"Now I'll have my Magician attack….," Alexandria said rubbing her chin.

Brian tapped his foot impatiently. After a bit he sighed. "Sometime this century!" he shouted.

"Fine attack his face down monster with Mana Whirlwind!" the Synchro Spellcaster spun her scythe over her head and fired a vortex of magical energy. It shattered a large black big with a skull and cross bones on its back.

"Thanks that was my Skull-Mark Ladybug and since it was just sent to the Graveyard, I gain 1000 Life Points," Brian smirked.

**(Alexandria: 9000) - (Brian: 9000)**

"Fun fact," the Insect duelist grinned. "That wasn't a ladybug you just trashed that was a tick with six legs."

"I didn't find that very fun," Alexandria muttered. "I'll end my turn with a face down card."

Brian drew and chuckled. "I activate Insect Imitation," he said holding up the Spell card. "This allows me to release an Insect monster on my side of the, then from my Deck I can Special Summon another Insect but it has to be one level higher. So goodbye Ant Token and hello….!"

The ant turned into a ball of green light that started to shift around. It quickly changed into a giant mantis with a yellow-green exoskeleton. (LV5/ATK 2350/DEF 1000) "Meet Grasschopper he's a Gemini monster so I'll Second Summon him!" the mantis started to glow for a few seconds.

**(Alexandria: 9500) - (Brian: 9000)**

"You're helping me a lot now," Alexandria sneered.

"That's all about to change," Brian grinned wickedly. "I move my other Token into attack mode and activate Shien's Spy so you can have my monster!" a woman in a conical hat appeared next to Alexandria, she gestured and the ant crawled over to the Spellcaster user's side.

As she started to glow Alexandria gulped. "Oh crap."

**(Alexandria: 10,000) - (Brian: 9000)**

"Crap is right!" Brian laughed. "Grasschopper show her mage and that traitor how you deal with prey!" the predator Insect hissed and skittered forward. It cleaved the sorceress in two and crushed the ant to nothing.

**(Alexandria: 8000) - (Brian: 9000)**

"Now before I end my turn I'll activate Emergency Recharge and draw four cards!" he quickly pulled four cards off the top his Deck and grinned. "I'll set a monster face down and that'll be all."

"_I need something or I'm going to be hacked in two by that bug,"_ Alexandria thought. "Here goes nothing!" she cried.

"I activate Graceful Charity!" for the second time the angel of charity appeared and Alexandria handed her two cards.

**(Alexandria: 8500) - (Brian: 9000)**

"Then I'll just set a monster to end my turn!" she shouted.

"No need to shout I can hear you just fine," Brian muttered. "Grasschopper destroy her face down card!" the mantis drove its claw into the face down monster destroying Apprentice Magician.

"Thank now I get to set a low level Spellcaster," Alexandria grinned as a face down monster appeared.

"It's Old Vindictive Magician right?" Brian asked. Alexandria just scowled. "I know every move you can make, other than you and Josh I've been a member of your little group the longest."

"But that's the past," he murmured. "I'll finish my turn by summoning Insect Knight and by setting another card face down!" the ground burst open and another mantis appeared. This one was more humanoid than Grasschopper. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 1500)

Just as Alexandria went to draw one of Brian's face down cards flipped open. "Reveal face down card Dust Tornado, and you being able to recover Life Points is getting very annoying!" the debris filled whirlwind smashed into the Continuous Spell card eradicating it.

"Fine I'm going to activate Magic Planter and get rid of my useless Spellbinding Circle!" the Trap card dissolved into motes of light and Alexandria tore two cards off her Deck.

"Now I'll flip my face down monster face up!" the reversed monster appeared, it was indeed the haggard old mage. He fired a blast of energy blowing Grasschopper to pixels. "Then I'll release him to call out…" the old mage vanished and a flurry of hearts burst onto the field.

"Come forth Dark Magician Girl!" the blonde apprentice Spellcaster appeared and scowled when she saw Brian. (LV 6/ATK 2000/DEF 1700) "Then I'll activate Monster Reborn to call back Tempest Magician!" from the ankh appeared the scythe wielding sorceress, she looked angry.

"Tempest Magician attack his Insect Knight with your Mana Whirlwind!" the female Synchro monster fired another tornado of magical energy shattering the soldier.

**(Alexandria: 8500) - (Brian: 8700)**

"Dark Magician Girl destroy his face down monster with Dark Burning Attack!" Dark Magician Girl raised her staff and fired a pink ball of energy blowing away a bug with a green exoskeleton and four arms.

"Thank you that was my Flying Kamakiri #1 and since you just sent him on a one way trip to the Graveyard I can call out a weak Wind monster!" Brian laughed. "So I'll bring out the catalyst to one of my most deadly monsters, Ultimate Insect LV3!" from the ground appeared a large blue and red centipede with a skull like face on the front of its head. (LV 3/ATK 1400/DEF 900)

"Ugh that thing is ugly," the Spellcaster duelist muttered. _"And trouble."_

"I'll set card face down and end my turn," she said.

"Now my Insect will evolve!" Brian shouted. The centipede split open and a more spider like form with a blue body burst out. (LV 5/ATK 2300/DEF 900) It started to release spores and the two Spellcasters started to cough. "As you may already know my monster causes all of your monsters to lose 500 attack point since it was summoned by the effect of its previous form."

Alexandria scowled as her monsters fell to one knee clutching their chests. (LV 6/ATK 2200-1700/DEF 1400) (LV 6/ATK 2000-1500/DEF 1700)

"Ultimate Insect attack her Magician Girl!" the giant bug skittered forward and was about to attack the blonde Spellcaster when Alexandria's face down card flipped open.

"Reveal, Negate Attack, so my Spellcasters are both safe," Alexandria sneered.

"You'd think that wouldn't you?" Brian asked sarcastically. "But I activate Counter, Counter so your Trap card is negated and destroyed, and so is your blonde bimbo!" the bug slashed the Dark Magician, she screamed and shattered.

**(Alexandria: 7700) - (Brian: 8700)**

"And I'm not done yet," he smirked. "I activate the Quick-Play, Swarming Attack, and since a level five or higher Insect monster I control just trashed one of your monsters I can Special Summon a level four or lower one from my hand," in a burst of dirt appeared an Insect with a black and brown exoskeleton and four mandibles. (LV 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"Meet Cross–Sword Beetle and he'll be destroying your Tempest Magician!" the new bug ran forward and crushed the Spellcaster with its jaws, she screamed and shattered.

**(Alexandria: 7600) - (Brian: 8700)**

"I'm going to place a card face down and that'll be all," Brian smirked.

"I'll set a monster face down and that's all I can don," Alexandria sighed.

Brian drew and the Ultimate Insect's body started to crack until something burst out. It was a giant blue moth with a red abdomen and its head had remained mostly the same. (LV 7/ATK 2600/DEF 1200) "Meet the level seven version of my Ultimate Insect, it'll cost all of your monsters 700 attack points now!"

"Cross-Sword Beetle destroy her face down monster with Quad Pincer Crush!" the Beetle skittered forward and crushed Apprentice Magician between its jaws.

Alexandria clutched her chest and screamed in pain. "What happened?"

"My Beetle acts like Enraged Battle Ox only for Insects," Brian explained and Alexandria's eyes widened in terror as a face down monster

**(Alexandria: 6600) - (Brian: 8700)**

"Let me guess," the Insect duelist sneered. "That's _another_ Old Vindictive Magician right? Well he won't be any help, Ultimate Insect annihilate her face down monster with Deadly Tornado!" the moth began to flap its wings causing a swirling blast of wind to strike Alexandria's side of the field. Her face down monster flipped up to reveal Old Vindictive Magician.

"Say goodbye to Mothra!" Alexandria shouted as her mage aimed his staff.

"What did I just say?" Brian asked sarcastically. "Reveal, Divine Wrath! So your mage's effect is negated and all it'll cost me is Discard Clause!" he laughed before throwing the card into his Graveyard.

A bolt of lightning struck the old mage vaporizing him. And Alexandria was knocked backwards by the force of the wind.

**(Alexandria: 4600) - (Brian: 8700)**

"I'm going to end my turn right there, maybe you should think about surrendering, I have 4000 more Life Points than you!" he laughed.

"Never!" Alexandria snarled tearing a card off the top of her Deck. "I'm going to summon one of my oldest monsters, and a fairly old monster in its own right, meet the Copycat!" in a burst of light appeared a harlequin like Spellcaster holding a mirror in front of their face. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0)

"And he'll be copying your moth," the Spellcaster's form began to warp and shift until it was a perfect replica of the LV monster. (LV 1/ATK 0-2600-1900/DEF 0-1200) "Now attack his Beetle with Copied Deadly Tornado!" the transformed mage unleashed its own blast of wind shattering the Insect into shards.

**(Alexandria: 4600) - (Brian: 8600)**

"Merely a scratch and when my turn comes my Ultimate Insect will destroy that fake!" Brian laughed.

"It would if it wasn't for a small fact," Alexandria grinned throwing a card into her Duel Disk. "I activate Magical Dimension!" the strange coffin like device appeared and Copycat jumped in.

"And from it I'll be call out Fortune Lady Dark!" from the coffin appeared the purple clothed Fortune Lady. (LV 5/ATK 0-2000/DEF 0-2000) "And as you should know since she's at level five right now she has 2000 attack and defense points, and now its the end of the road for your bug!" the coffin fired a burst of energy blowing the Ultimate Insect to atoms.

"Oh crap," Brian gasped as his moth shattered.

"Now, Dark would like a word with you, Dark hit him with your Dark Fate!" the Spellcaster spun her staff around and blasted Brian with a burst of dark energy causing him to howl in pain. (LV 1/ATK 1900-2600/DEF 1200)

**(Alexandria: 4600) - (Brian: 6600)**

"I'll end my turn," she said.

Brian growled and drew. He was starting to get angry, mainly because Alexandria was being annoyingly persistent. "I won't lose to someone who's basically a secretary!"

"I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" both duelists yanked three cards off the top of their Deck. "Now I'll activate Call of the Haunted and DNA Surgery! And I declare Insects obviously!" a double helix floated out of the trap and began to spin. Dark began to mutate gaining four black wings and antenna.

Alexandria looked at Brian's cards with a slightly confused look on her face. "Wait who are you going to summon, even Archer would've had trouble replacing an Insect Queen?"

"Oh he said that once I prove my loyalty by defeating you I can have a new Insect Queen but he gave me a replacement!" the ground burst open and a creature jumped out. It was a humanoid Insect with a yellow and pink body and butterfly wings growing out of the back of her head. "Say hello to Insect Queen's daughter and next in line for the throne Insect Princess!" (LV 6/ATK 1900/DEF 1200)

"Ok I'm going to take a guess and say she has a similar effect to her mother?" Alexandria muttered.

"No actually Insect Princess is different than her mother," Brian sneered. "Insect Queen's attack points can only go so high, but her daughter's growth knows no bound!"

"Now I'm going to activate Riryoku, this'll take half the attack points of your Copycat and give them to my Princess!" Copycat groaned as energy was siphoned out of it as the Insect monarch grew stronger. (LV1/ATK 2600-1300/DEF 1200) (LV6/ATK 1900-3200/DEF 1200)

"Ugh, I'm really starting to hate that card," Alexandria growled.

Brian cocked an eyebrow and just shrugged. "Next I'll equip Insect Pheromone to Insect Princess, and we'll get to its effect in a minute, for now, your highness destroy that faker!" Insect Princess began to flap her wings releasing a wave of pink spores. Copycat rushed forward only to receive a punch from Insect Princess causing it to shatter.

**(Alexandria: 2700) - (Brian: 6600)**

"And because she destroyed an Insect monster she gains 500 attack points," a pink aura surrounded the royal Insect. (LV6/ATK 3200-3700/DEF 1200) "And because my Princess is equipped with Insect Pheromone I can force your Fortune Lady to battle her!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" the Spellcaster duelist shouted in disbelief.

"Nope, Insect Princess, sic her!" the royal bug flew forward and slugged Fortune Lady Dark shattering her into a million pixels. (LV6/ATK 3700-4200/DEF 1200)

**(Alexandria: 1000) - (Brian: 6600)**

"And I'll end my turn," he said. (LV6/ATK 4200-2900/DEF 1200)

Alexandria set a monster face down and signalled the end of her turn.

"You're just barely holding on Alexandria," Brian said. "Why don't you just surrender?"

"Because though I hate to admit she can be right sometimes, but Reina's right when she says one draw can turn the whole duel around," she snapped. "So I won't quit until my Life Points hit zero!"

"Heh, you've got spunk," Brian laughed. "But spunk can't beat skill and that's something I have."

"I'm going to activate Pot of Greed and chain Emergency Provisions and use it to get rid of Pot of Greed and Insect Pheromone," the grinning jar appeared and then the card it came from along with the Equip Spell dissolved into grains of light.

**(Alexandria: 1000) - (Brian: 8600)**

"Now going to remove Aztekipede and my Insect Knight to call forth Doom Dozer!" the ground began to crack and then split open allowing a huge centipede with a black back and red under belly to emerge. (LV8/ATK 2800/DEF 2600)

Alexandria gasped and stepped back in terror. "Y….you got another copy of that thing?"

"Yes I traded Xander a few Zombie support card I had for the copy he had," the Insect duelist grinned. "Now, Insect Princess attack her face down monster!" the royal Insect flew forward and punched another Apprentice Magician. (LV6/ATK 2900-3400/DEF 1200) Another face down monster replaced the fallen Spellcaster.

"This is getting annoying," he growled. "Doom Dozer destroyed her face down monster!" the monstrous centipede lunged forward and crushed Alexandria's last Apprentice Magician. It was quickly replaced with another face down monster.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Brian sighed.

"_If I don't draw something good now I'm finished,"_ Alexandria thought. She pulled the top card off her Deck and grinned. _"This'll do nicely."_

"Ok to start it off I'm going to activate my copy of Spellbook Inside the Pot!" she cried as both duelists tore three cards off the top of their Decks. "Then I'll flip my Fortune Lady Light face up!" the face down monster was replaced with the yellow garbed Fortune Lady. (LV1/ATK 0-200/DEF 0-200)

"Since she's still at level one her attack points are pretty low," the Fortune Lady duelist said with a shrug. "But now I'll activate my face down card Interdimensional Matter Transporter!" a strange device appeared and Light was pulled into the vortex it created.

"And since she….," Alexandria began before being interrupted again.

"I know you get to call out one of your other Fortune Ladies," Brian sighed. "But none of them are strong enough to beat my monsters."

"Oh ya you never did get to see Fire's effect," Alexandria grinned. "I'll call her out and she gains 200 times her level like Light and she's level two!" in a burst of flames the red garbed sister appeared and she looked extremely angry at Brian. (LV2/ATK 0-400/DEF 0-400)

"And you'll lover her effect," she smirked. "One of your Insects is about to be incinerated and you'll lose attack points equal to its attack points, so say goodbye to your Princess!" Fire spun her staff around coating it in flames. She launched the flames forward immolating the Insect Monarch.

"No not her!" Brian cried as the flames struck him.

**(Alexandria: 1000) - (Brian: 5200)**

"And my turn is far from over!" Alexandria exclaimed throwing another card into her Duel Disk. "Go, Necromancy!"

"Necro…what I've never heard of that card?" Brian questioned puzzled.

"It's a card I got in a trade a few days back," Alexandria explained. "Some guy named Yuji was looking for some rare Spellcaster cards and was willing to trade me this for three cards I had. And I'll chain Burial from a Different Dimension to return the three Insect you have removed from play back to your Graveyard. And I'm not done yet because I'm activating my copy of Emergency Provision!"

"And I'll use it to get rid of my Necromancy and Burial," the two cards disappeared and the grains of light from them surrounded Alexandria.

**(Alexandria: 3000) - (Brian: 5200)**

Then four burst of light appeared on Brian's side of the field. From them appeared, Gokipon. (LV2/ATK 800/DEF 800) it was followed by Insect Knight, then Flying Kamakiri 1 (LV4/ATK 1400/DEF 900) and finally Cross-Sword Beetle, all of them the shield themselves in defense mode.

"Ok what in the Hell is going on?" Brian demanded angrily.

"That's the power of Necromancy," Alexandria stated. "It calls back up to four random monsters from your Graveyard all in defense mode."

"And this helps you how?" the Insect duelist asked. "Your monster is too weak to beat any of them."

"You seem to forget I haven't Normal Summoned yet," she answered. "Earth your up!" Fire vanished and in a burst of dirt appeared the spectacle wearing Fortune Lady. "She gains the same amount Dark does only she's one level higher." (LV6/ATK 0-2400/DEF 0-2400)

"She still comes up short," Brian smirked.

"I've still got cards I can play, first up is my Synchro Boost," a blue electric aura surrounded Earth. "So, Earth will gains 900 attack and 400 defense points, one level and you'll beat taking damage." Earth spun her staff around and struck the ground causing a wave of spikes to hit Brian. (LV6-7ATK 2400-3300/DEF 2400-2800)

**(Alexandria: 3000) - (Brian: 4800)**

"Now I'll activate Diffusion Wave-Motion and I'll chain it with Enemy Controller to force your Gokipon into attack mode!"

Brian's eyes nearly popped out of his head as Gokipon was forced to stand up by the giant game controller. He knew what Diffusion Wave-Motion did.

**(Alexandria: 2000) - (Brian: 4800)**

"Earth attack all of his monsters Diffusion Spell!" the Fortune Lady raised her staff as waves of energy started to shoot off slicing, Gokipon, Cross-Sword Beetle, Flying Kamakiri and then Insect Knight to pieces. The impact from the hit on Gokipon threw Brian off his feet.

**(Alexandria: 2000) - (Brian: 2300)**

Brian stood up and dusted himself off. "Even if you destroy Doom Dozer I'll still have Life Points left," he said. _"And I have Man-Eater Bug in my hand so Earth is as good as done for."_

"You would except for one small fact," Alexandria smirked pointing to Doom Dozer, the Insect could barely hold itself up. (LV8/ATK 2800-400/DEF 2600)

"What!" Brian shouted in disbelief. "What happened to it?"

"What happened is the second effect of Necromancy," she started. "Since the other monsters were destroyed your Doom Dozer lost 600 points for each one. Earth end this duel with Cursed Skewer!" Earth spun her staff around unleashing another wave of spikes.

They impaled Doom Dozer and Brian fell to his knees. "Why…..why did I lose?"

**(Alexandria: 2000) - (Brian: 0)**

As the smoke started to clear Alexandria waked over to her opponent. "You lost because you're a fool, you had good strategies but you still lack one thing, but I'm not sure what that thing is," she muttered.

As Brian started to lose consciousness he remembered something.

Several weeks ago

_Brian punched the ground and snarled. "How did I lose my strategies were superior!" he shouted._

_Ami and Gaia Knight were across from him but Gaia Knight was fading away. "That was fun," Ami grinned. "But you seem to be lacking something."_

"_He's lacking heart," a voice said. The pair turned and saw Josh had been watching. "Heart is what the cards in your Deck respond to, and without it you'll have trouble winning."_

"_That's crap," Brian snarled. "Duel Spirits may be real but the other cards in a Deck are just cards they don't respond to anything," after that he walked away._

The present

"_Maybe I am lacking heart,"_ Brian thought. _"Nah I'm just having an off time."_

Alexandria sighed and fell back on her butt. "That was one of the toughest duels I've had in a while."

"And you won," someone behind her said. She looked up to see Josh standing over her. "I knew you could win, and sorry I'm late, I had to deal with one of Archer's goon and it seems so did you."

"How'd you know?" Alexandria asked as she got to her feet.

"I just guessed," Josh muttered. "I figured he'd get roped into this one way or another. Well we'd better call Security we've got another mysterious coma victim."

**Zeke: Wow we weren't featured at all.**

**Alexandria: Ya but I finally got a chance to shine!**

**Reina: I guess even the mediocre should have a chance.**

**Alexandria: Take that back you witch!**

**Vincent: Ummm what should we do?**

**Rob: Just keep them from killing each other.**

**Josh: Next chapter is the last one before the finals and its Vincent's, turn to duel so don't miss Stories Cameo.**

**Vincent: Odd title, hey I recognize that guy!**

Once again sorry this took so long folks, college and writers block are a bad combo. Also I've got a poll up….I think, well if its working check it out, otherwise tell me.

**Original Cards**

Fortune Telling Witch Ann

Dark | Level 5 | Spellcaster | 0/0 | Your fortune the day you draw this card is unhappy.  
Lucky number, 5  
Lucky color, purple.  
Lucky item, sunglasses.  
Be Wary of falling things!

Fortune Telling Witch En

Fire | Level 2 | Spellcaster | 0/0 | Your fortune the day you draw this card is uncertain.  
Lucky number, 2  
Lucky color, red.  
Lucky item, Hair Ribbon.  
Remember that united things are stronger!

Fortune Telling Witch Swee

Water | Level 4 | Spellcaster | 0/0 | Your fortune the day you draw this card is probably bad!  
Lucky number, 4  
Lucky color, blue.  
Lucky item, umbrella.  
Your fortune is turning for the worse?

Miracle Stone

Image: Fortune Telling Witch Hikari, En, Swee and Hu floating around a crystal with runes coming off it.

| Continuous Spell | All "Fortune Fairy" monsters you control gain 1000 ATK for each "Fortune Fairy" monster you control. "Fortune Fairy" monsters you control cannot attack the turn that they are Summoned.

(The above four cards were used by Carly Carmine/Nagisa before she became a Dark Signer. In the English release of Tag Force 4 and the anime they're called Fortune Fairies.)

Swarming Attack

Image: Insect Queen and a large horde of Killer Needles attacking Breaker the Magical Warrior.

| Quick-Play Spell | You can only activate this card when a level five or higher Insect type monster you control destroys one of your opponent's monsters and sends it to the Graveyard. Special Summon a level four or lower Insect type monster from your hand, it must attack.

Insect Pheromone

Image: A close up of Insect Princess with light around her.

| Equip Spell | Equip only to "Insect Princess". If the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle, you can force 1 of your opponent's face-up Insect-Type monsters to battle the equipped monster during the same Battle Phase.

(This card was first used by Missy/Ran Kochou in Yu-gi-oh! GX episode 56 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)


	30. Ch30: Stories Cameo

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirty: Stories Cameo

Day five of the tournament had rolled around and Archer had announced the finals would be taking place shortly. In a café was a familiar white haired duelist.

He had his Deck and a few cards on the table. "Hmmm that combo could work," he muttered to himself. "But how could I draw this card out of my Deck quicker?"

He reached into his side Deck and pulled out two cards. He set them down on the table and grinned. They were Dark Blade and Pitch Dark Dragon.

"Wow those two look old," someone standing behind Vincent said.

Vincent turned around slightly. And standing behind him was a girl who appeared to be about the same age as him. She had short black hair and grey eyes covered by round rimmed glasses. She wore a red t-shirt and jeans. "Oh hello Yui," he murmured before turning back to his cards.

"A hello is all I get," Yui sighed putting her hands on her hips. "No congratulations on making it into the Junior Leagues, no sorry your cousin is in a coma."

"Ok congratulations and it really wasn't my fault Vic went totally freaking crazy," Vincent sighed as Yui sat down beside him.

"Vince tell me the truth ok," Yui said. "As one friend to another is what happened to Vic even remotely similar to what happened forty years ago?"

"Ok but I really prefer to be called Vincent," the white haired duelist sighed. "And I guess you could say that. But the truth of the matter is Archer is really evil."

"I should've seen that coming," Yui muttered. "So he used Vic's anger to probably push him over the deep end."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Vincent said collecting the cards into a pile.

Yui picked up the Dark Blade card and cocked an eyebrow. "How this card is really old, the image is almost worn away."

"I know it belonged to my great-grandfather and every member of my family who uses the Dragon and Rider Deck is supposed to carry the card in his memory," Vincent explained. "So are you entered in the tournament?"

Yui handed him the card back and he slid it and its partner into his side Deck. "No I didn't make it back to town before the deadline, too bad I wanted to be Queen," she chuckled. "If you want to duel we could always have a friendly table top game."

"No dueling one Excelion duelist was enough for this month," Vincent chuckled.

"Ok, are you still having those weird dreams?" she asked him.

"Yes and in the latest one I faced a Spirit user, a guy with a bag over his head and was in tag duel against some wannabe rapper," Vincent grinned. "Then everything went dark and I woke up."

"Sounds weird," Yui said as Vincent stood up to leave. "Hey Vincent, next time you duel maybe you should use Dark Blade and Pitch-Dark Dragon."

Vincent gave her a puzzled look. "Did he ask you or something?"

Yui merely grinned. "Maybe, with all the strange stuff that happens to our families would it shock you if he did?"

Vincent grinned. "No not in the least," he said before leaving.

Vincent walked down the street. _"Did they tell her something?"_ he asked himself. "Does that mean I have spirits?"

Since he wasn't really focused on his surroundings he bumped into someone causing them both to stumble backwards. "Oh sorry about that," the Dragon and Rider duelist muttered.

"It's ok," the other person said. He stood about the same height as Vincent and wore a black shirt with a symbol Vincent couldn't recognise and black jeans. But the thing that caught his attention was the yellow jacket and shoes he wore.

"You're a duelist from…," Vincent began only to trail off.

"From Island Academy?" the other person asked. "I am and are you ok you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"I'm alright sort of," Vincent said. "But I've seen you somewhere before…..oh ya in those crazy visions I've been having!"

The other person blinked a few times and then cocked an eyebrow. "Ok…..well I'm Claudio Osbourne, and as you might be able to tell I'm a member of the Ra Yellow dorm," the guy said.

"I know and you use Jukebox Heroes and well then I'm kind of confused!" Vincent shouted.

Claudio snapped his fingers. "You look just like Vincent Merchet!"

"I sort of _am_ Vincent Merchet, well Vincent Merchet Junior," Vincent said. "It's nice to meet you face to face."

"Same here," Claudio said. "Are you entered in the tournament?"

"I am and was that a challenge?" Vincent grinned popping a sucker into his mouth.

Claudio activated his Duel Disk. "Even if I wasn't you seem like an interesting guy, and you can learn plenty about a duelist from his Deck."

"I'll take that as a yes," Vincent smirked as he activated his Disk.

"Duel!" they cried.

**(Vincent: 8000) - (Claudio: 8000)**

"Do you mind if I start us off?" Vincent asked.

"Go ahead," Claudio said pulling five cards off the top of his Deck.

Vincent pulled his sixth card and grinned. "Ok I'm going to start this duel off by activating Hand Destruction, so now we both have to ditch two cards and then draw two more," both of them slid two cards into their Graveyards and then tore two more off the top of their Decks.

"Then I'll activate the Field Spell, Rider's Court!" the ground started to shake and the two were quickly surrounded by the walls of a castle, on several banners on the walls was an emblem of a dragon being rode by a knight.

"What's it do?" the Ra student asked.

"Right now nothing," Vincent said. "But I'll be using its effect soon. But first I'm activating the magic of Frontline Base and then I'm use its magic!" from the card burst a large black Dragon, it landed and turned to look at Vincent who smiled. (LV3/ATK 900/DEF 600) 'This is Pitch-Dark Dragon and you know what I'll summon his partner!"

In a burst shadows appeared a Warrior in jet black armor wielding two swords, he turned to Vincent who smiled again. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1500) "This is Dark Blade, he's well sort of an ally of the Dragon Riders, but also an enemy."

"So they have an uneasy alliance?" Claudio asked.

"Pretty much," Vincent answered. "Now you two, do your thing!" Dark Blade nodded and jumped into the air and landed on Pitch-Dark Dragon's back. (LV4/ATK 1800-2200/DEF 1500-1900) "As you can see he gains 400 points to both scores and another effect but we'll get to that later."

"Ok I'll end my turn," he said.

"And I'll start mine by summoning Jukebox Hero Slash!" in a burst of flames appeared man with shoulder length curly black hair and a top hat appeared. He pulled a guitar out of nowhere. (LV4/ATK 1300/DEF 1500)

"Now I'll activate Rock of Ages!" a Continuous Spell card appeared showing a giant rock with green mist flowing out. A green aura started to appear around Slash. (LV4/ATK 1300-1500/DEF 1500)

"So it increases your monster's attack points," Vincent said. "But he's not even close to strong enough to beat my Dark Blade."

"Don't worry I've got a plan," Claudio grinned. "I activate Premature Burial to revive Jukebox Hero KG!" from the ground burst a bald fat man, in a yellow shirt and blue shorts, carrying a guitar. (LV4/ATK 1200-1600/DEF 1400) (LV4/ATK 1500-1700/DEF 1500)

**(Vincent: 8000) - (Claudio: 7200)**

"And before you say anything KG's effect activates and his buddy JB is Special Summoned from the Graveyard!" from the ground appeared another man, this one in a gray shirt and teal pants also holding a guitar, but with JB and a cloud and thunderbolt on it. ( LV4/ATK 1400-2000/DEF 1200) (LV4/ATK 1600-1800/DEF 1400) (LV4/ATK 1700-1900/DEF 1500)

"Well that was a good combo but…..." Vincent began before he was interrupted by a burning sensation on his skin.

**(Vincent: 7000) - (Claudio: 7200)**

"What happened?" the Dragon Rider duelist asked.

"Slash's effect happened," Claudio explained. "Every time a Jukebox Hero is summoned you take 500 points of damage, oh and I'm activating Rush Recklessly on Slash," a burning red aura appeared around Slash. (LV4/ATK 1900-2600/DEF 1500)

"Slash attack his Dark Blade!" Slash started to play his guitar and fired a wave of burning notes at the Warrior. They struck Pitch-Dark Dragon blowing it to pixels. (LV4/ATK 2200-1800/DEF 1900-1500)

**(Vincent: 6600) - (Claudio: 7200)**

"JB attack his Dark Blade!" JB strummed his guitar firing a blast of sound shattering Dark Blade.

**(Vincent: 6400) - (Claudio: 7200)**

"KG direct attack!" the final monster fired another burst of sound. Vincent gritted his teeth and covered his ears.

**(Vincent: 4600) - (Claudio: 7200)**

"One card face down and then I'll end my turn," the J-Hero duelist said. (LV4/ATK 2600-1900/DEF 1500)

"I have to admit you're good," Vincent grinned. "I've never seen a combo that good on the first turn."

"Now since it's my first Main Phase I can activate one of the effects of my Rider's Court," he said sliding a card into the Graveyard. "I discard a Dragon type monster to add a Warrior type monster of the same of the same Attribute from my Deck to my hand, so I'll discard Ruby Dragon to add Adamantine Rider from my Deck to my hand."

"Now I'll use Frontline Base to call him forth!" from the Spell card jumped the spear wielding Rider. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 1200)

"Never seen that guy before," Claudio said. "He looks cool."

"Thanks, but I'm going to activate Star Blast! This card allows me to pay 500 Life Points and reduce the level of one monster in my hand by one for ever 500 points I paid, and I only need to pay 500 to call out Adamantine Dragon!" with a loud roar the Rider's partner flew onto the field. (LV5-4/ATK 2300/DEF 1000)

**(Vincent: 4100) - (Claudio: 7200)**

"Now Adamantine Rider do your thing!" the Warrior jumped onto the Dragon's back. "And now I'll have him attack your Slash!" the Dragon roared and spread its wings firing a barrage of sharp crystals slicing Slash to pieces.

**(Vincent: 4100) - (Claudio: 6800)**

"Oh and that's not all," Vincent said with a grin. (LV4/ATK 2000-1800/DEF 1200) (LV4/ATK 1800-1600/DEF 1400)

"I don't like that grin," Claudio muttered before he noticed that Adamantine Dragon firing another wave of crystal. He braced himself as the effect struck him.

**(Vincent: 4100) - (Claudio: 6400)**

"He inflicts 100 points of damage equal to the level of monsters he destroys," the white haired duelist explained. "But I have to admit I haven't activated his effect in a long time."

"So he usually get's trashed before he manages to attack?" Claudio asked and he received a nod from Vincent.

"Well I'm going to end my turn," Vincent said.

Claudio drew and looked over his hand. "I'll set a card face down and move both my monsters to defense mode," he said turning both cards sideways. "And that'll be all for this turn."

"I activate Dragon Draw!" Adamantine Dragon started to glow. "Since the only type of monster I control is Dragon I get to draw twice," he said yanking two cards off the top of his Deck.

"Wait but you have the Rider," the Ra student pointed out.

"Well since my Rider isn't being treated as monster he doesn't count," Vincent explained. "It's in the ruling for Dragon Draw."

"But enough small talk Adamantine Dragon attack KG with your Adamant Burst!" the Dragon roared and launched another assault.

"I activate Zero Gravity!" Claudio shouted as the card he'd just set flipped open. "So all monster's in attack mode move to defense mode and visa versa," waves of green energy rippled out of the Trap card and Adamantine Dragon covered itself with its wings and both rockers jumped up.

"Well good thing I didn't summon and on that note meet Wind Rider!" from a small cyclone appeared a Rider in green armor holding two curved swords. (LV4/ATK 1100/DEF 800)

"Then I'll set a card face down and end my turn," he said.

"_He has to be trying to lure me into a trap,"_ the J-Hero duelist thought. "JB and KG attack his Adamantine Dragon!" the two Jukebox Heroes started to play their instruments blasting the duo with sound shattering both monsters.

"Now reverse card open!" Claudio shouted as a card depicting Elemental Hero Avian and Burstinatrix with Flame Wingman behind them lifted up. "This card acts just like Urgent Tuning only well for Fusion monsters!" the two Hero monsters jumped into the fusion vortex and then flew out dressed in new clothes. (LV8/ATK 2600-2800/DEF 2600)

"And my Battle Phase continues, oh and they're called Tenacious D now, so sic him!" the two monsters both started to play unleashing a hail of lightning towards Vincent's side of the field.

"I'm activating my Trap card, good old Negate Attack!" the swirling shield appeared and the lightning bounced off harmlessly.

"Not a bad move," Claudio grinned. "I'm going to end my turn."

"Then watch out because I'm activating my Spellbook Inside the Pot," the grinning jar appeared and both players drew three times. "Now I activate Dragonic Soul Offering, thanks to this card I remove my Ruby Dragon and then I can Special Summon my Wind Dragon since Ruby counts as Wind's release!" a huge tornado appear on Vincent's side and a Dragon with dark green scales flew out. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 1800)

"Ok first things first, since I don't have a Wind Rider in my hand I get to draw a card," he said. "Then my pair will unite!" Wind Rider jumped onto Wind Dragon's back.

"I'm going to hazard a guess and say you're combo isn't done yet," Claudio said.

"You're right because I activate Union of Soul so my Wind Dragon gains attack points equal to his Rider's level times 100," the Spell card and the duo started to glow. (LV6/ATK 2400-2700/DEF 1800) "Then since your Spell card is starting to bug me I'll trash it with Mystical Space Typhoon!" the familiar cyclone tore across the field shattering the Continuous Spell. (LV8/ATK 2800-2600/DEF 2600)

"Wind Dragon destroy Tenacious D with Cyclone Breath!" the green Dragon roared firing a swirling blast of wind that launched the two monsters into where they shattered.

**(Vincent: 4100) - (Claudio: 6300)**

"Now normally I'd be able to destroy a Spell or Trap card but you lack any so I'm good," Vincent said. "I'll set a card face down and then my turn."

It was just then Vincent noticed JB and KG had reappeared. "Hey what gives?"

"That'd be Tenacious D's effect," Claudio said. "Since you took out Tenacious D I get to summon these two back from the Graveyard in defense mode."

"Now I'll summon Soul Mic," in a burst of fire a microphone appeared in Claudio's hand. (LV1/ATK 300/DEF 200) "It's got some handy effects, like you can't attack it so long as I control a Jukebox Hero monster, and it can attack DIRECTLY!" he shouted into the mic.

**(Vincent: 3800) - (Claudio: 6300)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card of my own," the J-Hero duelist said.

"Man my ears are ringing," Vincent muttered drawing a card. "I'll activate Emergency Recharge and since it was the only card in my hand when I played it I get draw four times!"

"No need to explain it," Claudio said. "Everyone has a copy of that card."

"True, but whatever I'll summon my Solar Rider!" in a burst of light the spear wielding Rider appeared on the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1800)

"Now before my Battle Phase I'll activate Dragon Treasury!" the Dragon/Rider duelist shouted. "This card will allow me to draw once for every monster one of my Dragon's destroyed at the end of the Battle Phase."

"With all the drawing you've been doing you're going to deck yourself out at this rate," Claudio said.

"That's a possibility but my Deck has more than forty cards so I should be able to last," Vincent said. "Wind Dragon destroy JB!" the Dragon fired another cyclone shattering the hero.

"Solar Rider your next!" the Rider charged forward and impaled KG on his spear. "Then I'll activate Combination Attack!" Wind Rider jumped off his partner's back and drew his swords. (LV6/ATK 2700-2400/DEF 1800) "This'll split Wind Rider from his partner but allow them both to attack."

"Wind Dragon destroy his Soul Mic!" the Dragon roared sending the mic flying into the air.

**(Vincent: 3800) - (Claudio: 4200)**

"Now I'll!" Vincent shouted only to be interrupted.

"Hold up! I'm activating my Card of Last Will!" Claudio cried. "Since one of my monsters just bit the dust I now get to draw five cards!"

"Ok cool card, want to trade it for anything?" the white haired duelist asked.

"Sorry but it was a gift so I couldn't in good conscious trade it away," Claudio said.

"Ok Wind Rider attack!" the green armored Warrior charged forward and slashed Claudio with his swords causing the Ra to grunt in pain and stumble back.

**(Vincent: 3800) - (Claudio: 3100)**

"Now before I end my turn I'll reequip my Rider to my Dragon and of course set a card face down," the Warrior jumped onto the Dragon's back causing them to glow again. (LV6/ATK 2400-2700/DEF 1800)

Claudio drew and grinned. "I activate Monster Reborn and use it to revive Tenacious D!" from the ankh appeared the two monsters counted as one.

"Let me guess you're going to power him up," Vincent said.

"Nope," Claudio grinned and much to Vincent's surprise he took the newly revived Fusion monster off his Duel Disk and slid it back into the Graveyard. "I'm releasing him to Special Summon my Soul Guitar!" the Fusion Monster vanished and in a burst of fire a golden guitar appeared in Claudio's hands. (LV5/ATK 1000/DEF 300)

"Uh oh low attack points and a high level are never a good combination," Vincent muttered.

"Nope, well not for you anyway," Claudio smirked. "Soul Guitar can be Special Summoned by releasing a Warrior type monster and if I do that it gains the attack points of the released monster." (LV5/ATK 1000-3600/DEF 300)

"3600 you've got to be kidding me!" the Dragon/Rider duelist shouted.

"Nope and it's only going to get worse because I activate the magic of Double Attack and discard my Jukebox Hero Smooth Criminal so my Soul Guitar can attack twice and those attacks will be hitting your Wind Dragon and Solar Rider!" Claudio declared unleashing wave of flames that annihilated the two Rider monsters. (LV6/ATK 2700-2400/DEF 1800)

**(Vincent: 1100) - (Claudio: 3100)**

"Now I'll end my turn with a face down card," the J-Hero duelist said.

Vincent drew and grinned. "You're good," he chuckled. "I'll set a card face down and then activate my Card Transaction and Emergency Provisions and get rid of Card Transaction and Dragon's Treasury!" the Spell cards dissolved into motes of light that swirled around Vincent.

**(Vincent: 3100) - (Claudio: 3100)**

"Ok what's Card Transaction do?" Claudio asked.

"It's like Card Destruction only better," Vincent explained. "First we discard our hands and then we draw equal to what we discarded, but then we get to draw one extra card."

"Ok," Claudio said dropping his cards into the Graveyard and drawing three cards. Vincent did the same, even drawing the same number.

"Now I'll activate Call of the Haunted to revive the Electro Dragon I just discarded!" the blue and yellow armored Dragon burst out of the ground and snarled at the Island Academy student. (LVATK 2500/DEF 1600) "And I'm not done yet, I activate Adamantine Sword Revival!"

Claudio's eyes widened into terror as Electro Dragon was engulfed in a pillar of light. "Oh crap," he muttered.

"I'm guessing you studied Rebecca Hawkins and know what I'm about to summon?" Vincent asked and Claudio nodded. "Good then meet one of my rarest cards the Diamond Head Dragon!" where Electro Dragon once stood the emerald scaled Dragon with the enormous diamond sticking out of its head appeared. (LV8/ATK 0-3500/DEF 2800)

"Now since Diamond Head can't attack I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Vincent grinned.

Claudio drew and cocked an eyebrow. _"This has got to be some kind of trap," _he thought to himself.

"Ahem," Vincent coughed, clearing his throat. Claudio hadn't noticed Vincent had activated a Trap card. "I activate Battle Mania so all your monsters, or just one in this case are forced into attack mode and must attack."

"Ok but before I enter my Battle Phase I activate my second Rush Recklessly giving my Soul Guitar 700 more attack points, they I'll attack….Diamond Head Dragon!" Claudio strummed the guitar firing another wave of fire. (LV5/ATK 3600-4200/DEF 300)

"I activate Covering Fire, so my Diamond Head Dragon gains 2400 attack points so kiss Soul Guitar goodbye!" Wind Dragon jumped behind Diamond Head Dragon and both of them unleashed their breath weapon blowing Soul Guitar to pixels and sending Claudio skidding back. (LV8/ATK 3500-5900/DEF 2800)

**(Vincent: 3100) - (Claudio: 800)**

"I'll move to my second Main Phase and end my turn with a single face down card," Claudio said. (LV8/ATK 5900-3500/DEF 2800)

"I'll set a card face down and have Diamond Head attack your directly for the win!" the green Dragon roared and another burst of diamonds flew at Claudio.

"Reveal Hallowed Life Barrier!" a clear shield formed around Claudio blocking the attack. "So at the cost of one card I take no damage from your cards or effects."

"Ok well I'll end my turn," Vincent sighed.

Claudio drew and his face lit up. "Yes, I drew just what I needed!" the Ra exclaimed. "I activate Scratch 'n Sniff Revival!"

"I have absolutely no idea what that does care to explain?" Vincent asked.

"Gladly," Claudio grinned. "It basically acts like a Jukebox Hero version of Miracle Fusion so I remove Tenacious D and his fusion components from my Graveyard to Special Summon a Jukebox Hero Fusion monster, in this case it's Apollo, Deity of Sound!" a multi-record version of Polymerization appeared.

The three Hero monsters appeared and the record started to spin. From the card appeared a huge burst of light but after Excelion Ultima is wasn't bright enough to blind Vincent.

A man dressed like a Roman soldier appeared, and on his back he had a quiver of arrows, in his hand he held a bow. (LV10/ATK 3500/DEF 2500)

"He's pretty powerful but my Diamond Head Dragon is just as strong, they'd kill each other in battle," Vincent pointed out.

"You forget most Fusion monsters have an effect and Apollo's is a powerful one if used right," Claudio added. "You see every Jukebox Hero monster in my Graveyard and removed from play zone are returned to my Deck and for every removed monster Apollo gains 400 attack points."

"Crap!" Vincent shouted. "That means he'll gain an extra 2000 attack points!" (LV10/ATK 3500-5500/DEF 2500)

"Apollo attack his Wind Dragon with your Solar Light Arrow!" Apollo notched one of his arrows and then fired it creating an energy arrow. It blew through Wind Dragon but bounced off Vincent.

Claudio blinked in confusion until Vincent showed him the Trap card he'd removed from his Graveyard. "My Rider's Pride protected me from damage since you managed to destroy my monster."

"Nice move," Claudio said. "Since I've got nothing left I can do I'll end my turn."

Vincent drew and nodded. "I'm going to activate Calling of the Ultimate Rider to Special Summon my Divine Rider from my Deck to my field!" from the sky descended the winged Rider wielding its two swords. (LV6/ATK 2300/DEF 2100)

"This is the very first Rider, it and its partner were honoured by the Gods themselves to act as defenders of the heavens," he said. "But legend has it when their comrades need them most to face their greatest threat, they'll descend down from the heavens and so it shall be!"

"That sounds cool, but what do you mean?" Claudio asked.

"I mean I'm activating Cost Down and discarding a card to lower the levels of all monsters in my hand by two!" the white haired duelist announced. "Then I'll release Diamond Head Dragon to unleash the Divine Dragon!"

Diamond Head Dragon flew into the air and exploded in a huge burst of light. When the light faded a huge form crashed into the ground. It was a Dragon but larger than any Claudio had seen. It wore blue, red and yellow armor like its partner and its eyes glowed bright red and steam poured from its jaws and nostrils. (LV8-6/ATK 3000/DEF 2500)

"Ok you two, I know it's been a long time but COMBINE!" Divine Rider nodded and leapt onto its partner's back, the two monsters let loose a powerful roar. (LV6/ATK 3000-3600/DEF 2500) "And it doesn't end their my Divine Rider grants any Dragon monster it mounts 400 extra points times the number of Dragon and Rider monsters in my Graveyard and in case you've lost count that's ten!"

"Wait that means your monster will have 7600 attack points!" Claudio shouted in disbelief. (LV6/ATK 3600-7600/DEF 2500)

"Care to surrender?" Vincent asked politely.

"No way hit me with everything you've got!" Claudio challenged.

"Ok Divine Dragon end this with your Divine Justice Burst!" the massive Dragon spread its jaws and let loose a torrent of golden energy that totally engulfed Apollo and Claudio.

**(Vincent: 3100) - (Claudio: 0)**

When the smoke cleared Claudio had apparently been knocked back. He looked Vincent in the eyes as the holograms faded and grinned. "That was one of the most fun duels I've had!"

The two bumped fists and grinned. "I feel the same," Vincent laughed. "Man no one has ever taken a hit from the Divine Duo and grinned. But too be fair you're only the third person I blasted with that combo."

"Glad to know I could experience it," the Ra student grinned. "If you ever want to join Island Academy I'm sure you'll have no problem making it into Ra Yellow.

Vincent chuckled. "I have a crazy feeling you're right."

"Good luck in the finals," Claudio said.

Later that night

Reina sat in her living room looking over her Deck. The screen of the T.V. suddenly showed a picture of a familiar M.C. "Everybody listen!" he roared. "The finals are now upon us and we'll be showing you the order in just a moment."

The screen changed again this time so that a blizzard of rose petals covered the screen. A chibi version of Reina appeared with Black Rose Dragon behind her. "First up with have Reina Fudo and her many Plant monsters!"

Several hands burst out of the ground and grabbed the Black Rose Witch pulling her down along with Black Rose Dragon. Moments later a chibi version of Xander and Deathkaiser Dragon burst out of the ground. "She'll face the Zombie duelist Xander Norico and his hordes of the undead!"

The screen changed again, this time it got very dark and Xander and the Synchro Zombie vanished. From the shadows a chibi Zeke and Infernity Death Dragon appeared. "Then in the second match have Zeke Kessler and his deadly Infernity monsters!"

Once again the screen changed and feathers blanketed the screen and when they were gone chibi Rob and Black-Winged Dragon stood their grinning ear to ear. "He'll be up against Robert Hogan son of Crow Hogan and a Blackwing user!"

Rob and his monster were pushed off screen by several ugly looking monsters. Then a chibi Talia and Brron walked on screen and both cackled. "Then in match number three we have Talia Yakushi and her psychotic Dark World monsters!"

The image on the screen started to warp and shift and Talia was sucked into a void. Then a chibi Alexandria and her Fortune Ladies jumped out of the void and blasted Brron. "She'll face Alexandria Trudge and the ever elusive Fortune Ladies!"

Alexandria screamed and ran away when Flame Dragon and Rider with a chibi Vincent rode on screen. "Then in the final round we have Vincent Merchet Jr. and the well known Dragon and Rider monsters!"

Flames covered the screen and Vincent gasped and the Dragon he was on flew away. Red Dragon Archfiend carrying a chibi Josh appeared and snarled at the screen. "He'll face Joshua Atlas the current holder of Red Dragon Archfiend!"

The screen switched again showing a board with the duelists faces on them. "These young men and woman will face off tomorrow at the New Domino Duel Dome at noon in tomorrow! Don't miss it!"

**Reina: So it all starts in tomorrow.**

**Xander: Well the first round anyway.**

**Rob: Yes finally a rematch with Zeke.**

**Zeke: Believe me it'll end like all the others.**

**Talia: It won't matter I'm going to make it to the finals and destroy Reina.**

**Alexandria: Not if I have a say you won't.**

**Vincent: I get to duel Josh, cool.**

**Josh: Don't miss Absolute Darkness or you'll be very sorry.**

**Original Cards**

All Jukebox Hero monsters belong to The Duelist of Dawn along with Claudio Osbourne, if you want to see more of them check out his main page or his stories Duel Academy Stories and the squeal The Society of Light you won't be disappointed.

Rider's Court

Image: Several Riders sparring in the courtyard of a castle with matching Dragon's watching.

| Field Spell | Once per turn you may discard a Dragon type monster from your hand to add one Warrior type monster from your Deck to your hand with the same attribute as the discarded Dragon. Once per turn during your first Main Phase you may send up to two Dragon or Warrior type monsters on your side of the field to the Graveyard to Special Summon a Dragon type monster from your Graveyard that would require releases equal to the number of released monsters.

Urgent Fusion

Image: Elemental Hero Avian and Burstinatrix floating in front of each other with Flame Wingman behind them.

| Trap | Activate only during the Battle Phase. Fusion Summon one Fusion monster. (Send the appropriate Fusion Material monsters from your side of the field to the Graveyard.)

Card Transaction

Image: The guy from Heart of the Underdog playing blackjack with a Wicked Dealer.

| Spell | Both you and your opponent discard every card in your hands and then draw cards equal to however many cards you discarded plus one additional card.

Divine Dragon

Light | Level 8 | Dragon/Effect | 3000/2500 | When this card is Summoned you may Special Summon one 'Divine Rider' from your hand. If you don't have a 'Divine Rider' in your hand you may draw one card.


	31. Ch31: Absolute Darkness

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirty-One: Absolute Darkness

Day six of the tournament had finally dawned on New Domino. People waited in line to buy tickets. Others who'd bought tickets a while back were walking into the stadium.

In a room inside the Duel Dome the eight finalists waited. "I made it!" Alexandria shouted punching the air.

"I told you, you could," Josh told her.

Near them Reina and Zeke were waiting. "We might have to face off," Zeke muttered.

"So we've dueled plenty of times," Reina said. "Plus you still have to beat Rob, and he's really improved."

"Glad to know someone has confidence in me," Rob grinned carrying a plate of food. "And this time when we duel Zeke I'll win!"

"In your dreams Rob," Zeke scoffed. "And where'd that food come from?"

Rob pointed to a table where Vincent was piling a plate high with food. "Get ready to…," Rob started before trailing off when he noticed he was talking to nobody.

"I can't believe I made it to the finals of a major tournament!" Vincent grinned as he grabbed food.

"You've entered a major tournament before?" Zeke asked as he grabbed as much food as he could.

"Nope," Vincent chuckled. "I've just always wanted to but I've never been invited."

"I don't get why you're all so cheery?" Talia snickered. "None of you stand a chance of beating me."

"I nearly beat you," Zeke countered and then he pointed to Xander. "Buddy if I face you I'm going to crush you."

Xander shrugged and walked out of the room. "Talia you may not want to stay much longer," he said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Talia asked before a loud sound caught her attention. A fork was embedded in the wall next to her head. Reina and her friends were glaring at her so she slowly slunk out of the room.

"Well I've got to get ready for my match," Reina said before walking out of the room.

Several minutes later

The stadium was now packed full of people. The Signers and their friends included. "The Wicked Gods," Leo murmured. "Does Reina stand any chance?" he asked his sister.

"Her dueling skills are great so we have to hope," Luna said. "But I'm positive she can win.

"Plus she has Shooting Star Dragon," Crow grinned. "And Yusei managed to slay a card that was considered on par with the Egyptian Gods with that thing."

"She doesn't have Shooting Star," Akiza muttered.

Everyone gasped. "Wait what!" Kalin and Misty shouted in unison.

"She said she isn't worthy of it yet," Yusei muttered. "But I know Reina can win."

"EVERYBODY LISTEN!" The M.C. shouted catching everyone's attention. "Welcome to the finals of the Battle for the Crown! And now I'd like to turn your attention to our current King and head of Security, Leon Archer!"

The crowd minus the Signers erupted into cheers as Archer stepped onto the platform. "Welcome one and all!" he shouted. "As you all know this tournament was held to see if another ruler is ready to step forward. So over the next few days these eight will duel and only one will face me to see if they're worthy!"

The crowd erupted again as the faces of the eight finals appeared. Then all but Reina and Xander's disappeared. "In the first match we have Reina Fudo vs. Xander Norico!"

Reina's Runner burst out onto the track and she pulled up to the starting line. Moments later Xander rode next to her. "Care to surrender to spare yourself the pain of defeat?" he offered.

"Never," Reina growled. "I'll make you and Archer will pay for hurting so many people."

The start signal appeared and both duelists revved their engines. "Ready, set, duel!" The M.C. shouted.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 0) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 0)**

Both of the rocketed forward but Reina managed to get ahead and make the first turn. "I'll start it off!" she announced.

"I'll set a monster and a card face down and that'll be all," Reina said.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

"Defending on the first turn," Xander said. "How boring I summon Mezuki!" from the portal appeared the horse headed demon. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 800)

"Mezuki attack her face down monster!" Mezuki raised its axe and charged at the face down monster. It hit what appeared to be a large green bird with thin limbs. (LV2/ATK 0/DEF 900)

"Sorry but Shield Wing can't be destroyed up twice per turn," Reina smirked.

"Fine I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Xander said.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 2) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

Just as Reina drew Xander's face down card flipped up. "Reverse card open!" he cried. "Rebirth Judgement, this card changes all cards in our Graveyard into the type I declare and I declare Zombie!"

"Ok it won't affect this Deck," Reina said. "I'm going to discard my Tuningware to Special Summon my Big One Warrior in defense mode!" from the portal appeared a Warrior in a white body suit with a huge one on his face. (LV1/ATK 100/DEF 600)

"Is this going somewhere?" Xander asked.

"Yes I summon my Road Synchron!" the monster that appeared from the portal was a yellow and silver Machine with a large mask covering its face. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 800)

"Now I activate Graceful Revival to well revive my Tuningware!" from the road burst the small Machine with the wok on its head. (LV1/ATK 100/DEF 300)

"Now I tune my level four, Road Warrior, my level one, Tuningware and Big One Warrior and my level two, Shield Wing!"

"_These clustering hopes will carve a path towards a new horizon! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Dash onward Road Warrior!"_

Road Warrior launched itself into the air and became four green rings. Two surrounded Shield Wing and Tuningware and Big One Warrior were surrounded by one each. The three monsters turned into wire frames and vanished in a burst of light.

From the light appeared a Warrior in yellow armor with a pair of gauntlets on the back of its arms, it appeared to have a slab of concrete on its back and it was wearing the same mask Road Synchron wore. (LV8/ATK 3000/DEF 1500)

"Now I'll activate Road Warrior's effect to Special Summon a level two or lower Machine or Warrior type monster from my Deck like my Fortress Warrior in defense mode, so go Summon Road!" the Warrior grabbed the slab on its back and held it forward a path of light was formed. Fortress Warrior appeared holding its helipad to defend itself. (LV2/ATK 600/DEF 1200)

"Road Warrior attack his Mezuki with Lightning Claw!" electricity crackled around Road Warrior's claws and it charged forward.

"I activate my Twin Vortex Trap card!" Xander laughed. "I select one of my monsters and one of your and both are destroyed. I pick Mezuki and Road Warrior!" bolts of lightning flew out of the Trap card vaporizing the two monsters.

"Shit," Reina swore. "Fine one card face down and then I end my turn."

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 3) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 3)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton," Xander grinned. "And since I have three Speed Counters I get to draw twice so long as I ditch one card."

"And now I'll activate the effect of Mezuki and remove it from the Graveyard to Special Summon my Gozuki!" from the track burst a bull headed monster wielding a large mallet. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 800)

"What the…?" Reina questioned. "I've never heard of that monster."

"Even so he has a very useful effect," Xander sneered. "He allows me to send a Zombie type monster from my Deck to the Graveyard," Gozuki slammed its mallet into the ground and Xander threw another card into his Graveyard.

"Now for my Normal Summon meet Plaguespreader Zombie!" the mix and match Zombie burst out of the portal and Reina gagged. (LV2/ATK 400/DEF 200)

"That is one of the ugliest monsters I have ever seen!" she shouted.

"It's only going to get worse," Xander chuckled. "I tune my level two, Plaguespreader Zombie and my level four, Gozuki!"

"_Break free from the bonds that keep you locked in the deepest reaches of Hell! Lay waste to the land of the living and utterly annihilate everything in your path! Burn it all, Deathkaiser Dragon!"_

Plaguespreader Zombie jumped into the air and became two green rings. Gozuki jumped through the Synchro gates and turned see-through.

The rotting Dragon like Zombie descended onto the field and roared. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 1500) "Oh and it will only continue to get worse," he laughed. "Like the fact that Deathkaiser allows me to revive a Zombie from your Graveyard!"

Reina gasped in horror. A portal opened beside the Zombie Synchro and Road Warrior jumped out looking extremely banged up. "You bastard," she snarled.

"Don't act so high and mighty I know you've attacked people with their monsters before," Xander scolded.

"Road Warrior attack Fortress Warrior with Undead Lightning Claw!" Road Warrior bowed its head and charged at Fortress only to have the attack blocked by the helipad.

"Wait, what just happened?" Xander demanded.

"Once per turn Fortress Warrior cannot be destroyed by battle," Reina sneered. "But nice try anyway."

"Fine, Deathkaiser you destroy it!" the Zombie roared and breathed a deadly burst of fire immolating the stone Warrior.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," he said.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 4) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 4)**

"I summon Nitro Synchron!" the fuel tank Machine jumped onto the field. (LV2/ATK 300/DEF 100)

"Well it's kind of cute, in an odd way," Xander muttered. "But you don't have any other Synchro Material monsters."

"Oh but I do," Reina grinned. "In fact I activate Synchro Material! This card allows me to use one of your monsters as well Synchro Material at the cost of not attacking this turn, like Deathkaiser!" a beam of light shot out of the card and pulled Xander's monster over to Reina's side.

"I tune my level two, Nitro Synchron and your level six, Deathkaiser Dragon!" she began.

"_Clustering hopes will combine to create a shining new star! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Reverberate. Stardust Dragon!"_

The meter on top of Nitro Synchron filled to about half and then it flew into the sky. It became two Synchro gates and Deathkaiser reluctantly flew through them, becoming a wire frame version of itself.

Stardust Dragon flew into the stadium and was met with cheers from the crowd. It threw back its head and roared causing the crowd to yell louder. (LV8/ATK 2500/DEF 2000)

Moments later Road Warrior shattered. "Damn when Deathkaiser goes so does the monster I revived," Xander growled.

"I'll set a card and end my turn," Reina hissed.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 5) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 5)**

Xander drew and scowled. "I'll set a monster in defense mode," he said.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 6) - (Xander: 8000 – SPC: 6)**

"This is insane," Vincent gasped. "They both have six Speed Counters and full Life Points."

"Xander is from the Underground Leagues, he probably didn't like getting shocked," Josh mused. "As for Reina, I can attest she's a crafty opponent, like her father."

"I activate Shooting Star!" Reina cried. "Since I control a Stardust Dragon I can destroy a card on your side of the field, like your face down monster!" Stardust Dragon launched itself into the air and disappeared into the sky. Seconds later it crashed onto the field destroying Xander's face down monster.

Xander was nearly shaken off of his bike from the impact. _"What the?" _he thought. _"That was way more powerful than it should've been for a Darkness Game."_

"Stardust Dragon attack him directly with your Cosmic Flare!" Reina commanded. "NOW BURN!"

Stardust Dragon struck Xander with its breath weapon causing him to hollow in pain. "Oh shit, I forgot she's a Psychic Duelist!"

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 6) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 4)**

"I'll burn that into your memory!" Reina growled.

"That was a really lame pun," Xander croaked.

"I'll end my turn," Reina spat.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 7) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 5)**

"I'll set a monster and a card face down and end my turn," Xander said.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 8) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 6)**

"I summon Junk Blader!" the ragged cloaked sword wielding Warrior jumped onto the field ready for battle. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1000)

"Stardust Dragon incinerate his face down monster!" Stardust Dragon unleashed another burst of silver flames. But before they could reach their target a familiar Fiend appeared.

"Reverse card open!" the Zombie duelist shouted. "Thanks to Sakuretsu Armor your Dragon is dead!"

"Moron!" Reina snarled. "Stardust I activate your effect! Your useless Sakuretsu Armor is negated and all I have to do is release Stardust!" Stardust dissolved into motes of light that destroyed the Fiend.

"Man has anyone ever gotten Sakuretsu Armor to work?" Josh asked.

"You know it's been so long I just took it out of my Deck," Alexandria mused.

"Crap," Zeke hissed. "Reina looks like she's freaking out."

"It seems to be doing her alright," Rob reassured him. "She's winning right."

"True but she just made a slight error," Zeke said. "Xander must known Stardust's effect, I mean it's famous."

What no one could see was Xander smirk and look at the face down card he'd placed face down a few turns back.

"Junk Blader destroy his face down monster!" the Warrior impaled Xander's face down card.

"Thanks….sucker!" Xander laughed. "That was Pyramid Turtle and now I can Special Summon a Zombie with 2000 or less defense points! Like Koa'ki Meiru Ghoulungulate!" the monster that appeared could best be described as looking somewhat like some kind of undead bovine, only with purple skin and some kind of mark on its head. (LV5/ATK 2500/DEF 1700)

"Ugh, gross," Reina growled. "Fine I end my turn and then Stardust returns!" Stardust Dragon started to materialize on Reina's side of the field only for Xander's other face down card to flip open.

"I activate my Harmonia Mirror!" Xander shouted and Yusei and Jack's eyes widened in horror. "Since you just Special Summoned a Synchro monster by some means other than Synchro Summon it's mine now!" a blonde woman with an ornate mirror appeared and Stardust flew out of it instead, looking confused.

"Damn you to HELL!" Reina exploded.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 9) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 7)**

"The effect of my Ghoulungulate says I have to show you a Zombie in my hand or it'll be destroyed," Xander explained. "So here's my Zombie Master."

"I'm going to enjoy this," he said. "Ghoulungulate attack her Junk Blader with Acid Breath!" the undead creature vomited a glob of green ooze that struck the Warrior melting him to nothing.

**(Reina: 7300 – SPC: 9) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 7)**

"Stardust Dragon attack your former master with Cosmic Flare!" Stardust bowed its head and fired a weak looking silver flame.

**(Reina: 4800 – SPC: 7) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 7)**

Reina grunted and then snarled. "I'll end my turn at that," Xander sneered. "Let's see what you've got."

**(Reina: 4800 – SPC: 8) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 8)**

Reina looked at her hand and snarled. _"Ugh I've been holding Scrap-Iron Scarecrow since last turn, why didn't I set it?"_

"I'll set a monster on the defensive and a card face down and that's all I can do," she growled.

**(Reina: 4800 – SPC: 9) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 9)**

"Once again I'll reveal Zombie Master to avoid having my Ghoulungulate destroy itself," Xander said showing Reina the card. "Then I'll activate Speed Spell – Synchro Greed, and since I have six or more Speed Counters I can now remove Deathkaiser to draw three new cards!"

"Now I activate Speed Spell – Shift Down, so I remove six or my Speed Counters to draw twice!" Xander laughed as he slowed down.

**(Reina: 4800 – SPC: 9) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 3)**

"Next I'll activate Speed Spell – Gap Cyclone, and since you have at least five more Speed Counters than I do your face down card is going to be destroyed!" a whirlwind tore across the field shredding Reina's Scrap-Iron Scarecrow.

"Crap!" she snarled.

"Finally I'll call out my Zombie Master!" from the ground appeared the necromancer with a cackle. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 0)

"Ghoulungulate destroy her face down monster!" the undead monster spewed a blob of slime. It struck what appeared to be a small pink bird wearing red boots, but bounced off.

"That would be Sonic Chick and she can't be destroyed by monsters with 1900 or more attack points!" Reina sneered.

"Zombie Master fry that bird with Wrath of the Undead!" the necromancer fired a bolt of purple lightning vaporizing Sonic Chick.

"Stardust Dragon attack her directly!" Stardust Dragon bowed its head again and blasted Reina with a small flame.

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 7) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 3)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Xander smirked. "You're not doing so well, even your friend Melissa put up more of a fight."

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 8) - (Xander: 5500 – SPC: 4)**

"_Reina you've got to calm down!"_ a voice inside the angry Psychic Duelist's head shouted.

"_Black Rose Dragon is that you?" _she asked.

"_Yes Reina, it's me, Stardust would likely chew you out in this situation but well, you know,"_ the Dragon spirit said. _"Reina at this rate if you don't calm down you'll lose, you've been making mistakes because you're letting your anger control you."_

"_But….because of him and Archer and Talia so many people have had to suffer!"_ Reina shot back.

"_Yes that is true, but in this case anger will only cause you to lose,"_ Black Rose Dragon said softly. _"Please Reina calm down, I couldn't help your mother as it started to consume her but I swore I'd look after you. If you remain calm you can beat him but if you don't you'll lose and then what?"_

Reina thought for a moment. _"You're right,"_ she said. _"Thank you Black Rose Dragon."_

"I summon Max Warrior!" the Warrior with large shoulder pads carrying a forked staff appeared from the portal. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 800)

"Now I activate Speed Spell – Speed Energy which will give my monster 200 attack points times the number of Speed Counters and I have eight!" energy started to flow out of card and into Max Warrior. (LV4/ATK 1800-3400/DEF 800)

"Max Warrior attack….Stardust Dragon with Swift Thrash!" Max Warrior rushed forward its weapon at the ready. "And now his effect activates and he gains 400 attack points!" a blue aura started to form around Max Warrior. (LV4/ATK 3400-3800/DEF 800) it beat Stardust Dragon with its staff.

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 8) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 3)**

"Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn, which means my Speed Energy wears off and Max Warrior's other effect activates," the aura around Max Warrior changed colours so that it was now dark red. (LV4-2/ATK 3800-900/DEF 800-400)

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 9) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 4)**

Xander drew and grinned. "I reveal Paladin of Cursed Dragon to keep Ghoulungulate then I activate Zombie Master's effect discard a card to revive a level four or lower Zombie from either Graveyard and I choose Gozuki!" the bull headed Zombie burst out of the ground. "Then I'll use its effect!" Gozuki smacked the ground with its mallet and Xander threw another card from his Deck into his Graveyard.

"Now I release my three monsters to unleash my most powerful monster!" the three Zombies dissolved into motes of black light that formed a swirling vortex. From it emerged The Wicked Dreadroot. (LV10/ATK 4000/DEF 4000)

"Say hello to my Wicked Dreadroot!" Xander laughed. "He emits an aura of fear halving the attack and defense of all monsters!" Max Warrior drew back in terror as he grew weaker. (LV2/ATK 900-450/DEF 400-200)

"Shit," Reina swore.

"Dreadroot attack her Max Warrior with Fears Knockdown!" the Wicked God roared and lunged at the Warrior.

"I reveal my face down card Excess Summon!" Reina cried. "Since you just selected Max Warrior as an attack target I can return him to my hand and then Special Summon a monster with less attack points than he hand, like my Stardust Phantom in attack mode!" from the Trap card appeared a monster that was dressed in clothes that looked like Stardust Dragon. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Fine Dreadroot destroy her new monster!" the Wicked God roared and crushed the Spellcaster. But Reina's other face down flipped open. "I activate Hallowed Life Barrier and all I have to do is discard a card and all damage is reduced to zero."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically. "Since you just destroyed Stardust Phantom I get to Special Summon back Stardust Dragon in defense mode!" in a burst of light Stardust Dragon appeared using its wings to shield itself. (LV8/ATK 2500-1250/DEF 2000-1000)

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Xander grumbled.

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 10) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 5)**

"I activate my own copy of Synchro Greed!" Reina grinned. "And I'll remove my Road Warrior and draw four cards."

"Now I activate Speed Spell – Synchro Return and since I have five or more Speed Counters I can Special Summon my removed Road Warrior!" from a rip in the sky Road Warrior jumped out and landed beside Stardust Dragon. (LV8/ATK 3000-1500/DEF 1500-750)

"I don't see how they'll help you," Xander said.

"I activate Speed Spell – Speed Fusion, since I have four or more Speed Counters I can now fuse my Stardust Dragon and my Road Warrior!" the two monsters flew into a swirling vortex above Reina. "So now I call forth Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste!" from the vortex emerged a large creature, was covered in blue armor and it had a Dragon like head and carried a large lance. (LV10/ATK 3200-1600/DEF 2000-1000)

"Then I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Reina said.

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 11) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 6)**

"I'll just set a card face down and that'll be all," Xander said.

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 12) - (Xander: 4200 – SPC: 7)**

"I activate the effect of my Effect Veiler!" Reina shouted throwing a card into her Graveyard. "I discard this her and your monster's effect is negated until the End Phase," a small blue haired sprite with thin wings coming out of her back appeared in front of the Dreadroot.

"I activate Wicked Aura!" a black aura started to surround The Wicked Dreadroot. Effect Veiler screamed and exploded. "This negates the effects of all monsters that dare to target my Wicked God as long as their level is lower than its!"

"Ok well I've got a plan B!" Reina announced as her face down cards flipped open. "First I activate Spellbinding Illusion, so your Dreadroot loses 500 attack points and its effect is negated as long as it remains face up." The Wicked Dreadroot was surrounded by a runic circle with a strange design in the center. (LV10/ATK 4000-3500/DEF 4000) (LV10/ATK 1600-3200/DEF 1000-2000)

"It can't be!" Archer shouted while watching from his box. "That's the card Yugi Muto used to weaken The Wicked Dreadroot when he faced it!"

"My monster is still stronger," Xander pointed out.

"True but I'm activating my face down card Rising Energy!" a burning aura started to surround the Dragon knight. (LV10/ATK 3200-4700/DEF 2000)

"Destroy the Dreadroot with Spiral Javelin!" Draco-Equiste hurled its lance sending it straight through The Wicked God's chest. The Dreadroot screamed in pain and shattered.

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 11) - (Xander: 3000 – SPC: 5)**

"Xander there's something I want to know," Reina said.

"What's that?" Xander asked.

"You don't seem like Archer's other goons, you don't want revenge, and you don't seem to want power so why'd you join him?" Reina inquired.

"I owe him," Xander said.

"What could you owe a slime ball like Archer?" she asked.

"Defeat me and I'll tell you," the Zombie duelist challenged.

"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Reina said. (LV10/ATK 4700-3200/DEF 2000)

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 12) - (Xander: 3000 – SPC: 6)**

"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Xander said.

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 12) - (Xander: 3000 – SPC: 7)**

"Dragon Knight attack him directly and end this!" Reina commanded. The fusion monster prepared to launch its weapon but one of Xander's face down cards flipped open.

"Reveal face down card Nihilistic Revival!" the ground exploded and The Wicked Dreadroot burst out and snarled at Reina.

"What's impossible!" she cried. "That thing is a Nomi!"

"Very true but my Nihilistic Revival allows Nomi monsters to be revived," the Zombie duelist smirked. "First off the monster's effect is cancelled, second the monster cannot change modes, and finally it's tied to my Trap card."

"Fine I'll call off my attack and set a card face down," Reina grumbled. "Then I'll end my turn."

"Hold up!" Xander shouted. "I activate Interdimensional Matter Transporter and I'll use it to remove my Dreadroot from play until the End Phase!" the strange looking device appeared and the Dreadroot vanished.

Moments later it reappeared and Nihilistic Revival shattered. (LV10/ATK 3200-1600/DEF 2000-1000)

**(Reina: 2300 – SPC: 12) - (Xander: 3000 – SPC: 8)**

"It looks like you lose Reina," Xander sneered. "Too bad, Dreadroot finish this with Fears Knockdown!" the massive Fiend's fist slammed into the Dragon Knight shattering it like glass and kept heading towards Reina.

"I activate Ground Capture!" Reina cried. A giant hand and arm made of dirt burst out of the ground and caught the Dreadroot's hand. It pushed it back causing the Dreadroot to hiss.

**(Reina: 1100 – SPC: 11) - (Xander: 3000 – SPC: 8)**

"It halves the damage I take from an attack," Reina told him. "Plus if took 500 more points of damage from the attack I get to draw a card."

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Xander said.

**(Reina: 1100 – SPC: 12) - (Xander: 3000 – SPC: 9)**

"_If I had to guess I'd say that face down card is one that'll give his monster piercing effect,"_ Reina thought. "Then I'll just have to win right now!"

Reina drew and grinned. "I activate Speed Spell – Accelerator Draw so now I get to draw twice since I have 12 Speed Counters!"

"Now I summon Hyper Synchron!" from the portal appeared a blue robotic creature. (ATK 1600-800/DEF 800-400) "Now I activate my face down card Limit Reverse to Special Summon my Tuningware, and then I'll activate Speed Spell – Miniature Duplication to Special Summon all other copies of Tuningware from my Deck!" in three burst of light three tiny creatures with woks on their heads appeared. (LV 1/ATK 100-50/DEF 300-150)

"Now my tune my level four, Hyper Synchron, and my three level one, Tuningwares, with one of them acting as a level two monster!" Hyper Synchron's chest open up and four green rings flew out. The Tuningwares jumped through the rings becoming clear. The stars of the monsters aligned and a burst of light was produced.

"_Clustering souls will create a glorious new light! Become the path of light itself! Synchro Summon, illuminate Light End Dragon!"_

From the light appeared the white scaled feather winged Dragon Synchro monster. (LV8/ATK 2600-1300/DEF 2100-1050) "Hyper Synchron's and my Tuniware's effects activate and I first get to draw three cards then my Dragon gains 800 attack points!" (LV8/ATK 1300-2100/DEF 1050)

"Even if you used your monster's effect it'd still be too weak!" Xander laughed.

"Well good thing I have the cards I need to take it down!" Reina declared. "First I'll activate Speed Spell – Effect Nullification, and since I have nine or more Speed Counters all monsters on your side of the field have their effects negated until the End Phase," a burst of energy shot out of the card striking the Dreadroot in the chest. (LV8/ATK 2100-3400/DEF 1050-2100)

"But I've got two more cards to activate," she grinned. "Speed Spell – Half Seize, which will halve your Dreadroot's attack points and give them to me as Life Points!" energy flowed off the Wicked God and into Reina. (LV10/ATK 4000-2000/DEF 4000)

**(Reina: 3100 – SPC: 12) - (Xander: 3000 – SPC: 9)**

"Now I activate my second Speed Spell – Speed Energy!" energy started seep off the road and into Light End Dragon. (LV8/ATK 3400-5800/DEF 2100)

"Light End Dragon finish this with your Shining Sublimation!" the white Dragon fired an enormous burst of light from its maw that tore through the Wicked God.

**(Reina: 3100 – SPC: 12) - (Xander: 0 – SPC: 9)**

Xander spun out and was launched off his bike by the blast from the Dreadroot's destruction.

"Reina Fudo is the winner of the first match!" the M.C. shouted.

Several minutes later a medical team had carried Xander to the infirmary. "Well talk Xander!" Reina demanded. She and her friends were in the infirmary with Xander.

"Ok no need to shout," Xander said. "I'm a man of my word, and my story goes back first to when I was seven, so about twelve years ago give or take," he began. "My sister took me away from home because our parents were, well awful, they were verbally abusive and weren't afraid to strike us. After six or so years of living together my sister got sick and couldn't work, we were in trouble. I was a pretty good duelist and someone approached me telling me I could make plenty of money to pay the bills. I accepted and was entered into the Underground League. I hated every minute of it, having to hurt people that seriously in a duel, it disgusted me, but I did it for her."

"After three years I told the boss I wanted to quit and he said I could but only if could beat him. He was good I nearly lost but pulled it out in the end. I left but several weeks later I returned home to find my sister had been stabbed to death, I knew it was that bastard! But what could I do I was as much a criminal as he was, ok well less so. But Archer approached me and he told me he was the Head of Security and that he wanted to take down the Underground, I couldn't agree fast enough. He taught how to start Darkness Games and I took down that bastard and got the information out of him, he had killed her so I returned the favour, and then Security moved in. Then Archer showed his true colours, after I was hauled it he told me he could erase my record but only if I joined him in his plan to rule the world. I had no other choice, it was join him or jail. I've hated having to steal souls, and I'm sorry about your friend, just promise me you'll beat Archer."

"We'll crush him," Reina said and the others nodded.

"Good and since I've failed I guess I'm going to jail," Xander said. "Oh well, it won't be that bad I guess."

Moments later several Security officers walked in and surrounded Xander. "Xander Norico, you're under arrest for being a member of the former Underground Duelist League as well as hacking into the Security Maintenance Bureau's records," the one in charge said.

"Ok I'll go peacefully," Xander sighed.

The other left and the officers handcuffed Xander and dragged him out of the room, and too Archer. "Hello Xander," the older man said as the officers left.

"I take it that was some of your goon?" Xander asked.

"You could say that," Archer said. "It's too bad you failed Xander I had high hopes for you. But I'll make you a deal, beat me in a duel and I'll let you go, lose and well you shouldn't think you hard about that."

Talia walked in and handed Xander his Deck and Duel Disk. "You're going to want to add a card from your Side Deck," she told him with a sneer.

Archer slid a standard issue Duel Disk onto his arm and smirked. "Are you ready Xander?" he asked as the smoke started to surround them.

"Yes," Xander said activating his Duel Disk.

**Reina: Well that's one match down.**

**Zeke: That means we're one step closer to seeing Mel again.**

**Josh: The next match should be interesting.**

**Rob: This time I'll beat you Zeke!  
**

**Vincent: Don't miss Dark Rivals!**

**Alexandria: If you do you'll be sorry**

**Peace: A small hello from me hoping to wish you all a merry Christmas and happy holidays! Peace Out!**

**Original Cards**

Twin Vortex

Image: Two bolts of lighting striking the center of two circles.

| Trap | Activate only when your opponent's monster declares an attack. Select 1 monster you control and 1 monster your opponent controls. Destroy those monsters.

(This card was first used by Placido/Primo during Yu-gi-oh! 5D's 107 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Gozuki

Earth | Level 4 | Zombie/Effect | 1700/800 | Once per turn, you can send 1 Zombie-Type monster from your Deck to the Graveyard.

(This card was first used by Bastion/Daichi Misawa's manga counterpart during Yu-gi-oh! GX manga chapter 23 all creative credit goes to the writers of that chapter.)

Shooting Star

Image: Shooting Star Dragon among several points of light flying into a larger point of light.

| Trap | Activate only if you control a face-up "Stardust Dragon". Select and destroy 1 card your opponent controls.

(This card was first used by Yusei Fudo during Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 56 all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Harmonia Mirror

Image: A blonde woman sitting beside a large mirror with a snake like design around the side.

| Trap | Activate only when your opponent Special Summons a Synchro Monster except by Synchro Summon. Take control of that monster.

(This card was first used by Jack Atlas during Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 5 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Excess Summon

Image: A blue and red spirit joined at the tails.

| Trap | Activate only when a monster you control is selected as an attack target. Return that monster to the hand, then Special Summon 1 monster from your hand in Attack Position, whose ATK is lower than the returned monster's ATK.

(This card was first used by Lucciano/Lester during Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 77 all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Speed Spell – Synchro Return

Image: Junk Warrior enveloped in white energy with a purple background behind it.

| Spell | Activate only when you have 5 or more Speed Counters. Special Summon 1 Synchro Monster that is removed from play. That Synchro Monster is removed from play during the End Phase.

Wicked Aura

Image: The Wicked Avatar destroying an Old Vindictive Magician in the form of the Dark Magician.

| Continuous Trap | If a 'Wicked' monster you control is targeted by the effect of a monster with a lower level the other monster's effect is negated and it is destroyed.

Spellbinding Illusion

Image: A circle with a design like the one on Spellbinding Circle only with an eye of wdjat in the centre.

| Trap | Select 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. Decrease the ATK of the selected monster by 500 points and negate its effects for as long as it remains on the field.

(This card was first used by Yami Yugi during Yu-gi-oh! R chapter 6 all creative credit goes to the writers of that chapter.)

Nihilistic Revival

Image: Darkness slowly floating out of portal.

| Continuous Trap | You may Special Summon a monster in your Graveyard with 'this card cannot be Special Summoned. This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set except by' in its card text ignoring the Summoning Conditions. The Special Summoned monster cannot change battle modes. Its effect(s) are negated. If the Special Summoned monster is removed from the field this card is destroyed, if this card is removed from the field destroyed the Special Summoned monster.

Ground Capture

Image: A large hand made of dirt or stone rising out of the ground.

| Trap | Activate when an opponent's monster declares an attack. Halve the Battle Damage you would take from that attack. If you take 500 or more Battle Damage from this attack, draw 1 card.

(This card was first used by Akiza Izinski/Aki Izayoi during Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 61 all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Speed Spell – Effect Nullification

Image: Dark Ruler Ha Des being engulfed by a burst of energy causing him to scream in pain.

| Spell | Activate only while you have nine or more Speed Counters. Until the End Phase the effects of all monsters your opponent control are negated.

Speed Spell – Half Seize

Image: A blue, yellow and green ball of energy.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 3 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. Halve that monster's ATK, and gain an equal amount of Life Points .

(This card was first used during Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 59 by Jack Atlas all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)


	32. Ch32: Dark Rivals

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirty-Two: Dark Rivals

Xander sighed. "I end my turn, just finish me."

Archer sneered. "Pathetic Xander, maybe I shouldn't have given you the Dreadroot in the first place," the King laughed. "You're weak, how did you manage to survive in the Underground!"

"I had someone to fight for," Xander spat. "You on the other hand, you've got no one and you call yourself a king but what king uses his people as pawn!"

"A smart king," Archer sneered. "A king exists to rule, those who bow at his feet are merely his playthings. I don't rule for the people I rule for myself!"

"You're a selfish king," the Zombie duelist sneered. "Just hurry up and finish me!"

"Dreadroot destroy your former master and this piece of trash with FEARS KNOCKDOWN!" Archer roared. The Fiend roared and punched Xander launching him across the room.

Xander's vision began to blur. _"Maybe now I can atone for my sins,"_ he thought. _"Sis I'll probably never see you again, and I'm so sorry."_

He went limp and Archer walked over to his former subordinate. He kicked Xander in the face. "So what if I'm a selfish king?" he asked sarcastically. "I'm going to rule everything soon you fool. Men come take out this trash!"

Several men in suits walked in and picked up Xander. "What should we do with him boss?" one of them asked.

"Throw him away with the rest of the trash," Archer smirked.

"Boy, Leon that was cold," Miranda said playfully as she stepped out from the shadows. "You could've cut the kid some slack that was his only loss."

"I don't have any room in the plan for failures," Archer told her. "Plus he was never truly loyal to me, I was blackmailing him."

The M.C. appeared on the stage again. "Ok I hope you enjoyed that first duel he shouted! The next duel one is between Robert Hogan and Zeke Kessler!"

The crowd exploded into a loud cheer. Zeke and Rob's faces appeared on the screen and both the boys pulled up to the starting line. "Hope you're ready to lose Kessler!" Rob taunted.

"Right," Zeke said rolling his eyes. "I'll believe it when I see it!"

The signal was given and both of them flew forward. Zeke pulled ahead and passed the first turn.

**(Zeke: 8000 – SPC: 0) - (Rob: 8000 – SPC: 0)**

"I'll start the duel off with my Cybernetic Cyclopean and a face down card, then I'll turn it over to you," beside Zeke appeared a green skinned ogre with metal armor covering parts of its body. (LV4/ATK 1400/DEF 200)

**(Zeke: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Rob: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

"I summon Battlestorm!" beside Rob appeared a birdman with black wings of a different design than most of Rob's monsters, he had yellow talons and smirked when he saw Zeke's monster. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 1000)

"And he gains 100 attack points for every Winged-Beast monster I control," Rob grinned. "And obviously he is one!" a black aura started to glow around Battlestorm. (LV4/ATK 1700-1800/DEF 1000)

"Battlestorm attack his monster with Swallowtail Dive-bomb!" the winged monster took to the air and flew downward its claws ready to slice up the Beast-Warrior.

"Big mistake Rob, I'm activating my face down!" Zeke shouted. "Reveal Trap card Full Salvo!" two missile launchers appeared on either side of Zeke's bike and fired at Rob causing the Blackwing duelist to cry out.

**(Zeke: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Rob: 7200 – SPC: 1)**

"If you remember I send every card in my hand to the Graveyard and you get hit for 200 times the number and I was holding four," the Fiend duelist explained. "And my Cybernetic Cyclopean gains 1000 attack points when I'm holding no cards!" the ogre snarled and lunged at the Winged-Beast. (LV4/ATK 1400-2400/DEF 200) Battlestorm cried out in shock as he was cut down.

**(Zeke: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 1)**

Rob growled and threw a card into the Spell and Trap zone. "One card face down and I'll end my turn," he grumbled.

**(Zeke: 8000 – SPC: 2) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 2)**

Zeke drew and grinned. "Well look what I drew my Infernity Archfiend!" in a burst of black fire the four eyed fiery haired Fiend floated onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"And now since I have no cards in my hand I can add an Infernity card from my Deck to my hand," a card slid out of his Deck and he immediately placed it face down. "Infernity Archfiend attack him directly with Hell Pressure!" the Fiend started to chant and the seal and giant hand appeared in the sky.

"Hold up I activate Negate Attack!" Rob cried and the swirling vortex stopped the attack from hitting him.

"Ok I'll end my turn," Zeke said with a shrug.

**(Zeke: 8000 – SPC: 3) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 3)**

"I summon Sirocco the Dawn since I control no monsters and you do!" from above Rob appeared the large blue headed Winged-Beast. (LV5/ATK 2000/DEF 900)

"Now I'll Special Summon Bora the Spear and Gale the Whirlwind!" in two burst of black feathers the spear wielding Winged-Beast and the small green headed Winged-Beast flew onto the track. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 800) (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 400)

"Now I'm activating Gale's effect and halving the points of your Cyclopean!" Gale flapped his wings firing blades of wind at the Beast-Warrior.

"I activate Infernity Barrier!" Zeke shouted. "You're Gale's effect is negated and he's destroyed!" a crystal shield appeared over Zeke's two monsters reflecting the wind blades and blowing Gale to shards.

"Ok minor set back," Rob muttered. "I'll activate Sirocco's effect and give his power to Bora!" Sirocco created a ball of light in his talons and threw it to Bora who grew in size. (LV4/ATK 1700-3700/DEF 800) "Of course now Sirocco can't attack, but…..Bora attack his Cyclopean!" the spear wielding birdman flew forward and impaled the Beast-Warrior.

**(Zeke: 6700 – SPC: 2) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 3)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Rob smirked.

Zeke drew and scowled. "I activate Taunt!" Rob shouted. "Now you're only allowed to attack Sirocco."

"Damn it," Zeke cursed under his breath. "Fine I'll just set a monster in defense mode and then I'll end my turn."

**(Zeke: 6700 – SPC: 3) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 4)**

"_That face down monster is probably Infernity Guardian,"_ Rob thought. "I'll activate Sirocco's effect again and give his power to Bora!" Sirocco threw the ball of energy to Bora who caught it started to grow. (LV4/ATK 1700-3700/DEF 800)

"Attack his Archfiend!" Bora dove down and impaled the Fiend causing it to cry out and shatter.

**(Zeke: 4800 – SPC: 2) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 4)**

"Now I'll set a card and end my turn," Rob grinned. "Looks like I'll be winning this one my friend."

**(Zeke: 4800 – SPC: 3) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 5)**

"I set a card face down and end my turn," Zeke muttered.

**(Zeke: 4800 – SPC: 4) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 6)**

Just as Rob drew Zeke's face down card flipped open. "Reveal face down card!" he cried. "Spirit Defense, this is sort of like a one turn Spirit Barrier for this turn only if I control a monster I'll take no battle damage."

Rob growled. "Fine I'll just pass this turn."

**(Zeke: 4800 – SPC: 5) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 7)**

"You want to know one of the things I like about you Rob?" Zeke asked.

"My wit my great dueling skills," Rob answered.

"No that you're gullible!" Zeke laughed. "I'll flip my Infernity Mirage!" when Zeke's face down monster revealed itself Rob gasped. It was the shamanic Infernity and it too laughed at Rob. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0)

"You tricked me!" Rob shouted.

"Yes I did," Zeke sneered. "There's no rule against fooling your opponent, I knew you knew this Deck well, too well for your own good and now I'll set a card face down and my Mirage's effect and use it to revive my Infernity Archfiend and my Infernity Avenger!" the tribal Fiend vanished and was replaced by the four eyed Fiend and one dressed like a cowboy, it was even holding two revolvers. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Now I'll activate the card I just set!" the Infernity duelist shouted as the Speed Spell flipped open. "Angelic Assistance, so since I'm holding no cards I get to draw three time!" he quickly pulled three cards off his Deck.

"I'm going to call out my Infernity Beast!" the hellhound jumped onto the field and snarled at Rob's monsters. "Then I'll set my other two cards face down and tune my level one, Infernity Avenger with my level four, Infernity Archfiend and my level three, Infernity Beast!"

"_At the end of life lies only death! But when the sacrifices are offered the king of death awakens! Come forth, Infernity Death Dragon!"_

The Fiendish cowboy jumped into the air followed by the Beast and Fiend. It became one green ring and the other two flew through it. They became transparent and a burst of darkness was produced.

The four eyed Dragon appeared and roared with fury. (LV8/ATK 3000/DEF 2400) "Rob I think you've seen Death Dragon before," Zeke grinned wickedly.

Rob gulped. "Yes I have."

"Good then you know that since I hold no cards I can destroy one of your monsters and take half of its attack points out of your Life Points," the Infernity duelist said. "But enough chit chat, Death Dragon destroy his Sirocco with your Infernity Death Breath!" the Dragon roared and spewed a blast of fire that struck the Winged-Beast and flew at Rob.

"I reveal my face down card!" Rob cried. "Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment, so all effect damage is reduced to zero and I know your monster can't attack and since you're out of cards I hope you don't mind if I make my move."

**(Zeke: 4800 – SPC: 6) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 8)**

"I'll summon Breeze the Zephyr to the field!" the pink Blackwing monster flew beside her comrade and both of them nodded. (LV3/ATK 1100/DEF 300)

"Now I'll tune my level three Breeze and my level four Bora!" Rob shouted.

"_Dark gales lift the wings that will soar forth to unreachable heights! Synchro Summon and take flight, Blackwing Armor Master!"_

Breeze flew into the fly with Bora following. She transformed into three green rings and they covered Bora causing the birdman to become transparent.

Armor Master streaked onto the track past both duelists and into the air. (LV7/ATK 2500/DEF 1500)

"Armor Master destroy his Death Dragon with Black Hurricane!" the armored Blackwing flew forward its arm surrounded by a whirlwind of feathers.

"I activate Draining Shield!" Zeke shouted. "So now your attack is negated and I gain Life Points equal to his attack points, so thanks!"

**(Zeke: 7300 – SPC: 6) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 8)**

"Damn it," Rob growled. "Fine I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."

**(Zeke: 7300 – SPC: 7) - (Rob: 6600 – SPC: 9)**

"I'll summon my Infernity Death Swordsman to the field!" the claymore wielding Infernity appeared on the field with a wicked cackle. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1100)

"Death Dragon destroy his monster with your effect Infernity Death Breath!" the four eyed Dragon fired another blast of flames but just before they struck the Winged-Beast Synchro it vanished.

"What the…?" Zeke asked.

"I activated my face down card Synchro Back," Rob chuckled. "So Armor Master is safe in my Extra Deck until my Standby Phase."

"Oh well," Zeke sighed. "You're wide open! Death Swordsman go!" the evil Warrior flew forward and smashed his sword into Rob's Runner.

**(Zeke: 7300 – SPC: 7) - (Rob: 4800 – SPC: 8)**

"And that's my turn," the Infernity duelist said.

**(Zeke: 7300 – SPC: 8) - (Rob: 4800 – SPC: 9)**

"Armor Master attack his Death Dragon with Black Hurricane!" the Blackwing flew forward its fist surrounded by a swirling vortex of feathers.

"Reveal face down card!" Zeke shouted. "My Infernity Force will your destroy monster since you targeted my Dragon and I'll get to Special Summon an Infernity from my Graveyard."

Armor Master's fist collided with a wall of energy but just as the energy started to rebound Armor Master vanished and Bora and Breeze reappeared.

"What happened now?" Zeke demanded.

"I activate a Speed Spell," Rob snickered. "Speed Spell – Synchro Split to be exact, since my Speed Counters are five or higher I can send Armor Master back to my Extra Deck and summon his Synchro Material from my Graveyard."

"This is starting to get very annoying," the Infernity duelist growled.

"I move to my second Main Phase and Synchro Summon Armor Master again!"

"_Dark gales lift the wings that will soar forth to unreachable heights! Synchro Summon and take flight, Blackwing Armor Master!"_

"Now I'll activate Speed Spell – Angelic Assistance and since my hand is empty I get to draw three cards," Rob tore three cards off his Deck and grinned.

"I set two cards face down and end my turn."

**(Zeke: 7300 – SPC: 9) - (Rob: 4800 – SPC: 10)**

"I'll move my Swordsman into defense mode and….," Zeke said. _"Ok what do I do, is one of those face downs a monster destruction card or something to negate my monster's effect?"_

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," he said.

**(Zeke: 7300 – SPC: 10) - (Rob: 4800 – SPC: 11)**

"I summon Blackwing – Jinn the Dry Wind!" from the portal emerged a small Winged-Beast with blue wings and carrying a sword. (LV1/ATK 600/DEF 500)

"Armor Master attack his Death Dragon!" the Synchro monster flew forward and punched the Dragon in the chest only to be sent flying back.

"Now I remove the Wedge Counter Armor Master placed there!" the Winged-Beast plucked the tiny shard of metal out of the Dragon's chest causing it to howl in pain. (LV8/ATK 3000-0/DEF 2400-0)

"Now I'll activate my face down Urgent Tuning and use it to tune my level one Jinn with my level seven Armor Master!"

"_These dark gales give rise to the wings that soar with resolved hope! Synchro Summon, Soar, Black-Winged Dragon!"_

Jinn and Armor Master flew ahead of Rob. Jinn became a single Synchro Gate that surrounded Armor Master turning it transparent.

Black-Winged Dragon flew onto the track and roared as several people in the stands cheered. (LV8/ATK 2800/DEF 1600)

"Black-Winged Dragon attack his Death Dragon with Nova Stream!" Black-Winged Dragon breathed a stream of red and black flames that engulfed Zeke's monster incinerating it.

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 8) - (Rob: 4800 – SPC: 11)**

"I'll end my turn," Rob grinned. "Come on Zeke I know you can do better than this."

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 9) - (Rob: 4800 – SPC: 12)**

"I'll move my Swordsman to defense mode and set a monster," Zeke muttered.

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 10) - (Rob: 4800 – SPC: 12)**

Rob drew and grumbled under his breath. "Black-Winged Dragon attack his Swordsman!" the bird like Dragon spewed another torrent of fire immolating Zeke's monster.

But the silver haired boy smirked. "Thanks Rob because since I control no cards and you just took out one of my Infernities my Infernity Avenger is coming back and his level is changed to equal my Swordsman!" in a burst of black flames the demonic cowboy appeared with a cackle. (LV1-4/ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Ok I don't like where this is going," Rob muttered. "But I'll end my turn."

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 11) - (Rob: 4800 – SPC: 12)**

"Now I'll flip my face down Infernity Guardian face up!" the blue shield appeared but it was devoid of any flames. (ATK 1200/DEF 1700)

"Now I tune my level four, Infernity Avenger and my level, four Infernity Guardian!"

"_When the curtain of darkness is torn open the howls of the underworld will be heard. Swoop down, born from the heart of darkness. Hundred-Eyes Wyrm!" _

Infernity Avenger flew into the air and transformed into four green rings. They surrounded the shield causing a burst of pure darkness.

The Signers and former Dark Signers gasped at the sight of the monster but Kalin looked stunned. "It can't be," he muttered.

"It looks just like your Dark Synchro monster!" Crow shouted only receiving a confused look from his wife.

"Dark Synchro what's that?" she asked.

"It's a long story," Crow replied.

"One certain people would rather not talk about," Jack murmured.

In the break room Josh and Alexandria couldn't believe their eyes. "How does he have Hundred-Eyes Dragon?" he asked Reina.

"How would that even be possible?" Alexandria asked. "I don't see any marks being burnt into the ground and Zeke wasn't killed."

"It's not Hundred-Eyes Dragon," Reina said. "It's Hundred-Eyes Wyrm, if you look there are some differences."

"Ok so it's not evil?" Josh asked.

"It might be," Reina answered with a shrug. "It's ugly and if you're going to ask how he got it, he won it in a contest, and he's also its creator, and lacking in common sense."

"I'm going to activate my monster's effect!" Zeke shouted. "Since I'm holding not cards I just have to remove an Infernity monster from my Graveyard and then my Wyrm will gains its effect like say my Death Swordsman's," the eye one Hundred-Eyes Wyrm's chest opened and Death Swordsman appeared in it.

"Attack his Dragon with Infinity Sight Stream!" the Dragon roared and fired a blast of dark energy from its maw striking Black-Winged Dragon causing it to explode into pixels.

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 11) - (Rob: 4600 – SPC: 12)**

"And now my Dragon's copied effect activates and you take damage equal to your monster's level times 200," the multi eyed Dragon fired another blast of energy striking Rob.

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 11) - (Rob: 3000 – SPC: 11)**

"And I'll end my turn," Zeke said.

**(Zeke: 4500 – SPC: 12) - (Rob: 3000 – SPC: 12)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Discard Transaction and normally this would effect both of us but you have no hand," Rob grinned and Zeke didn't seem to care. "I discard the two cards I was holding and then draw three cards."

"You're going to need a miracle to beat my Dragon," Zeke smirked.

"Really because I think I drew just what I need and what I needed was Blizzard the Far North!" the small seagull like Blackwing flew onto the field and landed on Rob's Runner and started to peck at the Graveyard. (LV2/ATK 1300/DEF 0)

"Now I get to revive a level four or lower Blackwing in defense mode like Bora the Spear!" the spear wielding birdman flew next to Blizzard his arms crossed over his chest.

"Sorry Rob but your Armed Wing can't save you," Zeke sneered.

"Now who ever said I was calling out Armed Wing?" Rob asked with a wicked smirked. Zeke looked confused and then both Blackwing monsters started to glow. "I remove Blizzard and Bora to call out Blackwing – Aurora the Northern Lights!" the two monsters dissolved into motes of light and were replaced with a tiny Blackwing monster with dark green feathers and a ball of multicoloured lights over her head. (LV10/ATK ?/DEF 0)

"I hate to ask but what can that monster do?" Zeke asked.

"Nothing much but I can remove a Blackwing Synchro monster from my Extra Deck and her effect attack points and name are treated as that monster's until my End Phase," Rob explained. "And I think I'll go with my Silverwind the Ascendant!" the lights above Aurora started to change until they looked like the sword wielding Blackwing. (LV10/ATK 0-2800/DEF 0)

"Now I'll activate Ebon Arrow!" Rob's face down card flipped open and a and person wearing a birdlike headdress appeared from the card. "This card will cost my Aurora 500 attack points but she'll be able to inflict piercing damage and if she destroys one of your monsters you'll take damage equal to its original defense points. (LV10/ATK 2800-2300/DEF 0)

"Ok but that makes her still too weak to defeat my Dragon," Zeke said. "Unless…."

"Well before I attack I'll activate Speed Spell – Effect Nullification!" chains burst out of the ground and coiled around Hundred-Eyes Wyrm. "Since I have nine or more Speed Counters until the End Phase your monster's effect is negated," Rob smirked.

"Aurora attack his monster with Mimicked Shadow Blade!" Aurora flew forward and the image above her raised its weapon. "And I send Kalut the Moon Shadow to the Graveyard to boost Aurora's attack points by 1400 until the End Phase!" the yellow headed Winged-Beast appeared and phased into the smaller Blackwing. (LV10/ATK 2300-3700/DEF 0) The image cleaved the Dragon in two causing it to dissolve into motes of dark light.

**(Zeke: 3800 – SPC: 12) - (Rob: 3000 – SPC: 12)**

Seconds later the arrow struck Zeke causing him to wince as his Life Points plummeted.

**(Zeke: 1300 – SPC: 10) - (Rob: 3000 – SPC: 12)**

"I'll simply end my turn," Rob said.

**(Zeke: 1300 – SPC: 11) - (Rob: 3000 – SPC: 12)**

Zeke drew and grinned. "I activate Speed Spell – Synchro Greed, and remove Hundred-Eyes Wyrm which will allow me to draw four cards!" the card slid out of Zeke's Graveyard slot and he plucked four cards off the top of his Deck.

"Now I activate Limit Impulse, and all I have to do is discard two cards to Special Summon two Soul Tokens and they're Fiend type Dark attribute level one monsters with no attack or defense points!" two wispy blue balls with yellow eyes appeared next to Zeke's Runner. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0) x2

"Now I'll release them to call out Infernity Queen Shinigami!" the two tokens fused together and the winged Fiend queen appeared on the field and glared at Zeke. (LV10/ATK 2900/DEF 2500)

"Then I'll activate Infernity Inferno and discard my last card to send an Infernity card from my Deck to my Graveyard," flames surrounded Zeke and he threw two cards into the Graveyard. "Then I activate my Queen's first effect and remove my Infernity Dwarf to increase her attack points by half the removed monster's," a dark aura appeared around the cloaked Fiend. (LV10/ATK 2900-3300/DEF 2500)

"Infernity Queen attack his Aurora with Zero Slash and end this!" the Queen spun her scythe around and then threw it at the small Winged-Beast slicing her in two.

**(Zeke: 1300 – SPC: 11) - (Rob: 0 – SPC: 12)**

Rob skidded to a halt as steam erupted from the various ports on his Runner. "Looks like I lost again," he moaned.

Zeke got off his bike and walked over to his friend. "Come to gloat Zeke?" Rob asked.

Zeke grabbed Rob's hand and shook it. "Nope I'm going to congratulate you," the Infernity duelist grinned.

"But I didn't beat you again," Rob said confused.

"Nope but Rob if I hadn't drawn Synchro Greed when I did I would've lost, plus that was a really fun duel," Zeke told him. "Don't give up Rob maybe someday you'll beat me, of course Hell will likely freeze over first."

"You just had to get a shot in didn't you," Rob growled.

**Reina: So Zeke won.**

**Vincent: That means you two will be facing off in the semi-finals.**

**Josh: That should be an interesting duel.**

**Rob: Man I just can't beat Zeke.**

**Alexandria: Yes I'm up next.**

**Zeke: It's called Bottomless Darkness don't miss it.**

**Talia: Heh your Spellcasters are going down in flames.**

**Original Cards**

Spirit Defense

Image: Gagagigo blocking an attack from Invader of Darkness with a small bubble of yellow ghosts.

| Trap | While you control a monster(s) you take no battle damage.

Synchro Back

Image: A spectral version of Mist Wurm about to be hit by a ball of fire.

| Trap | Return 1 Synchro Monster you control to the Extra Deck. Special Summon it during your next Standby Phase.

(This card was first use by Akiza Izinski/Aki Izayoi in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 24 all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Speed Spell – Synchro Split

Image: A spectral version of Junk Warrior with Junk Synchron and Speed Warrior before it.

| Quick-Play Spell | Activate only while you have 5 or more Speed Counters. You may send a Synchro monster you control back to the Extra Deck and Special Summon any Synchro Material monsters from your Graveyard.


	33. Ch33: Bottomless Darkness

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirty-Three: Bottomless Darkness

In his box Archer sneered. "So the boy has a spirit does he," he laughed.

"What's so funny Leon?" Miranda asked.

"Zeke Kessler has a Duel Spirit," Archer told her.

"So what that would just mean everyone in Ms. Fudo's little group has a spirit," Miranda said. "Though her and that Hogan boy only have them because of their parents."

"Yes well he and Ms. Yoshiro managed to attract two on their own," Archer said. "But even better his spirit is an Infernity and I believe it was Queen Shinigami."

"That creepy monster he played with the cloak and scythe?" Miranda asked and Archer nodded. "Ok what's so special about her?"

"Well as you may have guessed it she is the queen of all Infernity monsters," Archer explained. "And they served Ccapac Apu and she was its most loyal servant, and that means if we could claim that card we may be able to forcibly awaken Ccapac!"

"Wouldn't that be kind of well I don't know crazy?" Miranda asked.

"For anyone who didn't wield the power I wield yes!" Archer laughed. "But with the power of The Wicked Avatar I could destroy Ccapac Apu and absorb its power and then the Avatar would be invincible, that would more than restore to its former glory."

Back in the break room

Rob and Zeke walked back in. "That was a great duel," Reina said hugging Zeke.

"Thank you," Zeke said his face turning as red as Reina's jacket.

"Oh man he's got someone to congratulate him on winning," Rob sighed.

"Don't worry Rob you'll find someone," Vincent said patting his friend on the back.

"There, there Robert I think you did great," a familiar voice said. Rob turned around and gasped.

"Ami what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh I was sent here by the others to tell the boss and Alexandria that we'll be cheering you two on," the Naturia duelist answered. "Plus you seemed like you needed cheering up." 

"Rob weren't you just complaining you don't have someone to cheer you up?" Vincent asked with an incredulous look.

"What….Ami isn't I mean," Rob sputtered.

"Good luck Alexandria," Ami said to her friend.

"Thank you Ami I'm sorry you didn't make it into the finals," Alexandria said.

"You're going to need luck to beat me and my Eraser," a sinister voice laughed. Everyone turned and saw Talia standing in the doorway with a nasty sneer on her face.

"Why are you here?" Reina snarled. "Didn't you and Xander get the message last time!"

"Hmph I'm not afraid of you witch!" the Dark World duelist smirked only to gulp when another fork embedded itself in the wall next to the other one. "And in case blonde's girlfriend forgot we have a match and she's going down flames!"

Talia laughed and walked out of the room. "Oh how I hate her!" Reina fumed. "Alexandria I don't like you and I damn well know you don't like me but you have to pound that bitch into the ground!"

"Don't worry I'll beat her," Alexandria said before she left the room.

Outside

The M.C. stood on one of the duelist stages. "Everybody listen!" he shouted into his mike the crowd screamed. "I hope you all enjoyed that last match because next we have Alexandria Trudge and her Fortune Ladies!"

In a burst smoke Alexandria appeared on the dueling stage with a confident smirk. "She'll be facing Talia Yakushi and her insane Dark World Deck!" Talia appeared and sneered at Alexandria.

"I hope you're ready to lose!" Alexandria cried activating her Duel Disk.

"In your dreams princess I'll beat you down without even trying!" Talia cackled as her Disk activated.

"Duel!" both girls shouted.

**(Alexandria: 8000) - (Talia: 8000)**

"Well the better duelist should go first," Talia smirked snapping six cards off the top of her Deck. "And that would be me! I'll start this off with a set monster one card face down and Card of Safe Return which will allow me to draw a card every time a monster is Special Summoned from my Graveyard, next I'll end my turn."

"Hmph you call that an opening move," Alexandria sneered. "I'll show you an opening move!"

"First I'll activate Future Visions!" the stage changed so that both girls were seemingly floating in a blue void with several images swirling around them. "I could explain this card but I'll show you what it does by summoning my Fortune Lady Light!" the yellow clad Fortune Lady appeared on the field. (LV1ATK 0-200/DEF 0-200)

"As you can see she gains 200 attack and defense points time her level which stands at one but she won't be staying long," the images flashed and Light seemed to fade away.

"Wait what just happened to your monster?" Talia demanded.

"That's the power of my Future Visions," the Spellcaster duelist grinned. "In this void between time and space all monsters that are Normal Summoned are removed from play until their controller's next Standby Phase."

"Ha that was a stupid move you just left yourself defenceless!" the Dark World duelist laughed.

In a burst of shadows Dark appeared and glared at Talia. (LV5ATK 0-2000/DEF 0-2000) "You should've let me finish what I was saying like that my Light had another effect and it activated since she was removed from the field by card effect allowing me to summon another Fortune Lady like Dark from my Deck," Alexandria explained.

"And I'm still not even done with my first Main Phase," she grinned.

"Dear god your moves take way too long!" Talia growled.

"I get that a lot, I activate Fortune's Future!" she pulled Light's card out of her pocket and slid it into the Graveyard. "I send a removed Fortune Lady back to my Graveyard then I get to draw two cards."

"Now its time I went on the offensive!" she declared. "Dark annihilate her face down monster with Dark Fate!" the purple haired Spellcaster twirled her staff around and fired a burst of dark energy blowing what appeared to be a wicked simian in red armor to atoms.

"That was my Scarr, Scout of Dark World and since he just got toasted I get a level four or lower Dark World monster from my Deck!" Talia said as a card popped out of her Deck.

"Ok well I'm activating Dark's effect and reviving Light!" the yellow haired Fortune Lady appeared next to her sister. (LV1ATK 0-200/DEF 0-200) "Light attack her directly with Luminous Burst!" Light fired a bolt of energy at Talia but she didn't even flinch.

**(Alexandria: 8000) - (Talia: 7800)**

"Congratulations to you," the red haired duelist said sarcastically. "But I hardly felt that."

"I really don't care and I'm ending my turn with two face down cards," Alexandria said.

"I summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World!" the bound ruler appeared with a cackle causing several people in the stands to cringe (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 400) seconds later the Mad King vanished like Light had.

"Now I'll activate Graceful Charity and chain Spell Reclamation!" as the Spell card appeared light green energy started to surround it. "All I have to do is discard a card and then when Graceful Charity goes to the Graveyard it'll be added to my hand."

"And now Graceful Charity's effect activates and I'll discard my Broww, Huntsman of Dark World who allows me to draw once since he was discarded by one of my card effects and Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World!" the first monster to appeared was wearing a gauntlet on one hand and holding a bow in the other and then the giant gold armored Dark World monster burst onto the field. (LV5/ATK 2300/DEF 1400)

"Goldd kill Light with your Gold Rush!" Goldd snarled and jumped forward his axe held high.

"Or not I'm activating both of my face down cards!" Alexandria shouted. "Go, Compulsory Evacuation Device it'll allow me to return a monster its owner's hand like my Light and Emergency Provisions getting rid of my Future Visions and my Trap card!" a large machine appeared on the field and pulled Light in before launching her into the air. Moments later it and the Field Spell dissolved into motes of light.

**(Alexandria: 10000) - (Talia: 7800)**

"Ugh not again," Talia snarled. "What are you summoning this time?"

"I'm going to call out Fortune Lady Fire in defense mode and I have some bad new, Brron won't be coming back since my Field Spell left the field," in a burst of crimson flames Fire appeared and sneered at Goldd. (LV2/ATK 0-400/DEF 0-400) "Also I have some worse news."

"Like I care I'll just have Goldd kill your newest monster!" Goldd roared and continued his charge.

"Actually Fire's going to be sending him back to Hell where he belongs," Alexandria began to explain. "Since Fire was Special Summoned by the effect of Light one of your monsters dies and you take damage equal to his attack points!" Fire blasted Goldd causing him to scream in pain before exploding.

"Shit," Talia hissed before the flames struck her. She howled in pain and skidded back.

**(Alexandria: 10000) - (Talia: 5500)**

"Ugh how am I getting beaten by a loser like you?" she snarled.

"Simple I'm not the lame duelist everyone seems to think I am," Alexandria grinned.

"Whatever I'll still win this!" the Dark World duelist snarled. "I'll just end my turn with a two face down cards."

"Now my Fortune Ladies grow stronger!" both Dark and Fire started to glow. (LV5-6/ATK 2000-2400/DEF 2000-2400) (LV2-3/ATK 400-600/DEF 400-600)

"That won't matter well for Dark at least," Talia smirked as one of her face down cards flipped open. "Reveal Master Magician's Incantation! This will allow me to activate a Spell in my hand or on the field as if it were a Quick-Play like my Graceful Charity!" Talia again pulled three cards off her Deck then threw two into the Graveyard.

"One of the monsters I discarded was Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World and since he was discarded one of your monsters dies and that'll be Dark!" an egg shaped Fiend holding a knife appeared behind Dark, he plunged his knife into her back, she screamed and shattered.

"And the other was Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World who will be Special Summoned in attack mode!" the spear wield Dark World monster burst onto the field and Card of Safe Return glowed. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 1300)

"Ok I'll set a card face down along with a monster," Alexandria grumbled.

"Good then I'll summon Dark Resonator!" the grinning Fiend holding a drumstick and tuning fork appeared on the field. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 300)

"So you're going to Synchro Summon so what?" Alexandria asked.

"It's what I'm going to summon that'll make you very sorry for having to duel me because I'm going to equip my Dark Resonator with Synchro Boost giving it an extra level and 500 attack points!" blue energy started to crackle around the Fiend. (LV3-4/ATK 1300-1800/DEF 300)

"Now I tune my level four, Dark Resonator and my level four, Beiige!" Talia laughed.

"_I offer you my soul being born from the darkness of the heart! Synchro Summon make them all bleed to death, Blood Mephist!"_

Dark Resonator smashed its drumstick into the tuning fork and became four Synchro Gates that surrounded Beiige. From the burst of light came a wicked looking monster wearing a top hat and carrying a cane with a skull atop it, the monster had green skin and looked down at Alexandria with a murderous gaze. (LV8/ATK 2800/DEF 1300)

"Meet Blood Mephist!" Talia laughed. "And I'm going to activate one of his special abilities go Blood Vengeance!" the demon laughed and spewed a hail of blood at Alexandria.

**(Alexandria: 9100) - (Talia: 5500)**

Alexandria screamed in pain and flew back landing on her rear. "Ugh what just happened?" she asked.

"My monster happened," Talia cackled. "It inflicts 300 points of damage for each card you control and if you set any Spell or Trap cards you'll only take 300 more!"

In the stands the Signers and Alexandria's parents looked horrified at the current situation. "That can't be," Crow whispered.

"It's that evil card," Trudge growled under his breath. "We have to stop this duel!"

"That isn't going to happen," Yusei said softly.

Trudge snarled and turned to Yusei. "What in the hell do you mean!" the larger man asked angrily. By this point several other people were paying attention.

Trudge took a deep breath. "Ok Yusei explain what's going on now."

Yusei and the other Signers explained to the two higher ups in Security both of whom didn't exactly look shocked. "It seemed too good to be true," Mina muttered.

"Ok you didn't tell us why?" Trudge asked sound pissed.

The Singers looked at themselves then the ground. "We were worried you'd confront Archer on the matter and get hurt," Luna said softly.

Trudge rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I guess a repeat of what happened with Ghost would be bad?"

"We really didn't want to leave it to our kids," Jack muttered. "But they wouldn't back down."

"But I have to sit and watch my daughter live through someone I'd hoped was gone," Mina said.

The waiting room

Rob looked at the screen showing the duel with a mixture of horror and rage. "Archer that bastard!" he exploded.

"It can't be!" Reina gasped.

"It would make sense Archer would make a card that evil," Zeke grumbled.

"Would someone mind telling me why Rob looks like he's about to freak out?" Vincent asked.

"Well it's a long story but I can tell you the short version," Reina said. "Basically Rob's dad had a mentor named Robert Pearson, Rob's named after him and he dueled the guy who had the original Blood Mephist the card was evil and inflicted real damage because of the duel Pearson was killed and the guy using Blood Mephist was Pearson's friend Bolger Crow later dueled him and won and Trudge took the card back to Security to be destroyed."

"Ok so I wonder is that the original or a copy," Vincent wondered out loud.

"It really doesn't matter Alexandria's in danger one way or another," Zeke muttered.

Back on the duel field

Alexandria stood up panting. "You bitch," she hissed.

"Did that hurt princess well get ready because that was NOTHING!" Talia laughed. "I'm going to tear you apart then your boyfriend then Reina she'll pay!"

"Shut up and continue with your move," Alexandria growled.

"Fine Mephist destroy Fire!" the Fiend laughed and fired another wave of blood blowing Fire to pixels. "I'll set a card and end my turn."

Alexandria drew and grinned. _"Good this combo should work nicely,"_ she thought. "Ok I'll set one card face down and another monster in defense mode."

Blood Mephist cackled and struck Alexandria with another blast of blood. She jumped out of the way and the attack smashed into the stage damaging it.

**(Alexandria: 8800) - (Talia: 5500)**

Talia drew and smirked. "I activate Dragged Down to the Grave!" she laughed. "Now we both get to see each other's hands and then we select one card and force our opponent to discard it then we draw one card so show me your hand."

Alexandria snarled and turned the one card she was holding around. "Dark Magician of Chaos eh, well to the Graveyard with him," Talia said. She turned her cards around revealing another copy of Brron and Dangerous Machine Type-6.

"Discard Brron," Alexandria told her. Talia complied and then both girls drew a card.

"I'll activate my Blood Mephist's effect again!" the Fiend laughed and fired another burst of blood. Alexandria again jumped to the side.

**(Alexandria: 7600) - (Talia: 5500)**

"Good now Mephist attack the monster on the left!" the Fiend fired a barrage of blood eradicating Apprentice Magician.

"Thanks now I get a level two or lower Spellcaster face down," Alexandria grinned slapping a card onto her Duel Disk causing a face down monster to appear.

"Whatever I activate Dangerous Machine Type-6!" in a burst of sparks a large spherical device that bore a slight resemblance to a slot machine appeared behind Talia. "I'll end my turn."

"I'll activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" Alexandria shouted and the grinning jar appeared and both duelists drew.

"I'll flip my face down monster on the left face up so meet Effect Veiler!" a small winged Spellcaster with blue green hair appeared (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0). "Now I release my face down monster to call forth the Dark Magician Girl!" the face down card disappeared and in a burst of hearts the famous apprentice appeared causing the crowd to erupt. (LV6/ATK 2000/DEF 1700)

"Now I'll tune my level two, Night's End Sorcerer and my level six, Dark Magician Girl!" Alexandria began.

"_The surging power reaches an absolute peak the arcane one shall appear to cast his judgement! Synchro Summon appear Arcanite Magician!"_

Effect Veiler flew into the air and became a single green ring. Dark Magician flew through it and became orange wireframe. From the burst of light descended a monster wearing a white robe with what looked like armor underneath. (LV7/ATK 400/DEF 1800)

"Now my Magician's effect activate and he gains two Spell Counters since he was Synchro Summoned and he gains 1000 points for every Spell Counter on him," two orbs of light started to circle around the mage. (LV7/ATK 400-2400/DEF 1800)

"He's still not strong enough," Talia sneered.

"I planned for that so I'm activating one of my face down cards Rush Recklessly!" Arcanite Magician began to fiery red. (LV7/ATK 2400-3100/DEF 1800) "Now attack with Arcane Burst!" the mage fired a huge burst of energy from his staff atomizing Dark Mephist.

**(Alexandria: 7600) - (Talia: 5200)**

"And I'm not done reveal face down card!" Alexandria shouted. "Magician's Circle and since Arcanite declared an attack both of use can Special Summon a Spellcaster type monster with 2000 attack points or less."

"What not fair I don't have one!" Talia shouted.

"Too bad because I'm calling out Magical Exemplar!" from a large circle with a strange design in the middle appeared the green robed Spellcaster. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 1400) "Attack her directly with Luminous Spell!" the Spellcaster raised her hand and blasted Talia with a ball of light.

**(Alexandria: 7600) - (Talia: 3500)**

"Didn't you say you were going to beat me without even trying," the Fortune Lady duelist asked with a smirk. "Well I'm kicking your scar faced ass!"

Talia's one eye twitched and a blood vessel pounded on her forehead. "No one makes fun of the SCAR!" Talia exploded. "That's it not only am I going to beat I'm going to KILL YOU!"

"I'm doubtful right now," Alexandria said rolling her eyes. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn." (LV7/ATK 3100-2400/DEF 1800)

Talia drew and the slots on the Dangerous Machine started to spin. "Oh yes my Spell card activates and a number from one to six will be choose it'll determine what happens," after a moment the machine landed on one. "Oh good now I have to discard a card and I choose Sillva, Warlord of Dark World in attack mode!" from the ground burst Sillva and he looked pissed. (ATK 2300/DEF 1400)

"Now I activate Dark World Lightning!" a bolt of lightning crashed down onto Alexandria's face down card destroying it. "I get to trash one of your face down cards then I must discard a card like Celri, Monk of Dark World!" from the ground on Alexandria's side of the field appeared a armored Dark World monster holding a staff and wearing a tattered cape. (LV1/ATK 100/DEF 300)

"Huh hey why'd he appear on my side of the field?" Alexandria inquired.

"Simple it's his first effect and now his second activates and you have to choose a card in my hand then I have to discard it," Talia explained and then held up the five cards in her hand.

"Fine I'll go with the middle card!" the Spellcaster duelist shouted.

Talia smirked and started to laugh. "Why thank you I'll gladly discard my Reign-Beaux Overlord of Dark World!" from the ground burst the Fiend Talia had first used to attack Zeke and Reina. He stood ten feet tall with large bat like wings and curved ram like horns he held a sasumata. (LV7/ATK 2500/DEF 1800)

Alexandria stepped back in terror. "His appearance isn't the only reason to be scared no since he was discarded by your card effect I can now wipe out either all Spell and Trap or all monster and you lack Spell or Traps so your monsters are goners Reign-Beaux show her your Hell's Ray!" the Overlord of Dark World raised his staff and fired several bolts of multi-coloured energy vaporizing Alexandria's two monsters.

"Now my monsters double direct attack!" Sillva rush forward but Alexandria managed to avoid him but she didn't see Reign fire another blast of energy, she screamed as it struck her and crashed into the ground.

**(Alexandria: 2800) - (Talia: 3500)**

Alexandria didn't move as smoke poured off of her. "Well looks like this duel is over, at least if you can't get up in a minute," Talia laughed.

Alexandria tried to stand up but her arms and legs wouldn't budge. _"Damn it I can't lose I promised Josh I'd duel him in this tournament!"_

Four days ago

_Alexandria commanded her Dark Magician Girl to attack her opponent directly causing their Life Points to drop to zero. "Yes I won again!" she cheered. "But it was by the skin of my teeth again."_

"_I'm the weakest member of our group," Alexandria sighed. "They didn't even bother to bring me along when they went to the school to rescue the others I'm never going to make it to the finals. I even got beaten by Zeke in front of Josh."_

"_Says who?" someone asked her._

_Alexandria turned and saw Josh. "Why do you think that you've made it this far haven't you?"_

"_Yes but….," she began before being cut off._

"_Zeke is the strongest member of Reina's group and you nearly beat him," Josh told her. "And you my best duelist and…"_

_Alexandria smiled. "Thanks for the pep talk Josh I needed it but I still don't know if I'll do well."_

"_Then I know how about we both promise to duel each other in the finals," Josh proposed._

_Alexandria blinked a few times. "Sure I promise we'll duel in the finals!"_

The present

Alexandria growled and slowly stood up. "What how can you stand after an attack like that?" Talia gasped in disbelief.

"I made a promise I intend to keep," Alexandria told her. "And it starts by kicking your sorry ass out of this tournament!"

"I'd love to see that," Talia laughed. "I'll end my turn you wimp."

Alexandria drew and grinned. "I set a monster face down and then I'll end my turn."

"Oh I'm sorry I though you said you were going to kick my ass," Talia laughed.

The Dangerous Machine spun appeared and landed on four. "Crap," she hissed. "That means you get to draw."

"No matter Sillva attack!" the Warlord rushed forward and cleaved Alexandria's face down card in two revealing Apprentice Magician.

"I take it you remember my Apprentice Magician's effect," Alexandria grinned as another face down monster appeared.

"Yes I do," Talia growled. "Destroy that monster Reign!" Reign-Beaux fired another blast of energy vaporizing Alexandria's last Apprentice Magician and another monster appeared.

"I'll end my turn," she snarled.

Alexandria drew and grinned. "I activate Pot of Greed!" the grinning jar appeared again and she drew twice. "Perfect I flip my face down monster face up!" the monster appeared revealing itself to be Old Vindictive Magician. (LV2/ATK 450/DEF 600)

"No not that monster!" Talia screamed.

"Now your Reign-Beaux is going to be saying his goodbyes to his subjects!" Alexandria laughed. "Vindictive Magician blow it away!" the old mage aimed his staff and fired blast of magic energy blowing a huge hole in Reign-Beaux's chest causing him to howl in pain and shatter.

"You bitch you'll pay for that," Talia hissed.

"I don't care and I'm activating a Spell card Shield and Sword!" Sillva began to flicker and then collapsed to one knee. (LV5/ATK 2300=1400/DEF 1400=2300) (LV2/ATK 450=600/DEF 600=450)

"What just happened?" Talia demanded.

"Geez you've never heard of Shield and Sword how stupid can you be well let me fill you in because my Spell card switches the original attack and defense points of all face up monsters until the End Phase not like your Sillva will be lasting that long," the Fortune Lady duelist explained. "I release my Old Vindictive Magician to call out Chaos Command Magician!" the elderly mage vanished in a burst of light and a mage dressed entirely in green holding a staff appeared. (ATK 2400/DEF 1900)

"Chaos Command Magician destroy Sillva with Chaos Magic!" the new Spellcaster fired a blast of light and dark energy vaporizing the Warlord.

**(Alexandria: 2800) - (Talia: 2500)**

"Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Alexandria said.

"You are a fool!" Talia laughed. "I activate both my Trap cards, The Forces of Darkness and Xing Zhen Hu!" two blocks dropped onto Alexandria's face down cards and then were tied on with ropes. Two cards then slid out of Talia's Graveyard and she added them to her hand. "First my Xing Zhen Hu makes it so you aren't allowed to activate those two face down cards then my The Forces of Darkness allows me to add two Dark World monsters from my Graveyard to my hand, like Goldd and Sillva!"

"Ok I'm not afraid of them my Command Magician is stronger than either of them," Alexandria smirked.

"Well first let's see what my Dangerous Machine is going to do shall we," the machine spun again and this time six came up. "Oh well that means my card self destructs!" the machine started to spark and then exploded in a burst of pixels.

"Now I'll activate Card Destruction so I have to discard my hand since you've got nothing so prepare for annihilation!" Talia laughed throwing her hand into the Graveyard. In burst of Darkness Goldd, Sillva and Beige appeared and snarled at Alexandria. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 1300)

"Ok none of your monsters are strong enough so unless you have someway to power them up or destroy my Magician I'm not scared," Alexandria scoffed.

"Oh but you should be scared because I release my three Dark World monsters to unleash THE WICKED ERASER!" the three Fiends exploded into motes of darkness that swirled together into the twisted dragonic demon god. (LV10/ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Zero attack points and three releases if its anything like what that Xander guy played I'm not going to like it ," Alexandria gulped.

"No you won't because it my Eraser gains 1000 attack and defense points for every card you control and I count three!" the Eraser roared in anger spread its wings. (LV10/ATK 0-3000/DEF 0-3000) "Oh and I'm not done yet I equip you monster with Pestilence so his attack points drop to zero and you take 500 points of damage during your Life Points during my Standby Phase but this duel ends now!" a dark purple aura flew off of Chaos Command Magician causing the Spellcaster to clutch his chest and fall to one knee. (LV6/ATK 2400-0/DEF 1900)

"Eraser end this with Digestive Blaze!" the demon spewed a blast of green flames that struck Chaos Command Magician and tried to continue onto Alexandria but the mage spread his arms and blocked the attack.

**(Alexandria: 0) - (Talia: 2500)**

"The winner Talia Yakushi!" the M.C. shouted.

"Well looks like I proved who the better one between the two of us eh princess," Talia said mockingly.

"No Talia all you've proven is you're as weak and pathetic as when we were younger," Alexandria countered. "Your nothing more than a bully and Josh is going to hammer you into the ground!" after that she collapsed forward

Several minutes later in the infirmary

"Come on please answer me Alexandria," Josh begged to no avail.

Reina and her friends looked on sadly. "That bitch," Rob hissed. "First she uses Dark Mephist then she takes out Alexandria."

"I didn't know you considered her anything other than Josh's girlfriend?" Zeke asked.

"I don't but I still feel bad for him," Rob muttered. "First Mel and if we don't beat her they'll only be more pain and suffering."

"I swear I'll get her back for you," Josh promised.

"Where's Vincent?" Reina asked.

"I don't know I think he went to the washroom," Rob answered.

"I'm here," the Dragon/Rider duelist said. "And I won't go easy on Josh just because Talia took out Alexandria I want pay back for what happened to Mel."

"I wouldn't expect you to go easy on me but I'll still crush you one way or the other," Josh told him walking out of the room.

**Rob: Damn now Alexandria's out of it.**

**Reina: And who'll win in the next match.**

**Zeke: My money's on Josh.**

**Vincent: Oh thanks some friend you are.**

**Reina: I have to agree with him no offense Vincent.**

**Josh: Don't miss Dragon Masters.**

**Original Cards**

Celri, Monk of Dark World

Dark | Level 1 | Fiend/Effect | 100/300 | If this card is discarded to the Graveyard by a card effect, Special Summon this card in face-up Defense Position on your opponent's side of the field. When this card is Special Summoned this way, this card's controller must select and discard 1 random card from their opponent's hand.

(This card was first used by the real Brron, Mad King of Dark World during Yu-gi-oh! GX episode 136 all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)


	34. Ch34: Dragon Masters

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirty-Four: Dragon Masters

"Thank you master," Talia grinned walking out of Archer's box.

"She's starting to lose it," Miranda whispered.

"Hmmm yes well the Wicked Gods do have a negative effect on the minds of the weak," Archer muttered. "No matter she has nearly served her purpose I don't think she'll be able to beat Mr. Atlas or Mr. Merchet."

"You don't think very highly of your subordinates?" Miranda asked with a chuckled.

"Heh, subordinates?" Archer asked. "No Miranda you're my only subordinate on this little project no the rest are just worthless pawns."

The duel field

"Ok it's time to begin the final duel of the quarter finals of the Battle for the Crown!" the M.C. shouted. "It's between Joshua Atlas and Vincent Merchet!" Josh and Vincent both walked onto the duel field.

"I hope you've enjoyed your run in this tournament," Josh smirked. "It'll be ending right here when I crush you!"

"Heh, I won't be defeated so easily!" Vincent shot back.

"This guy is nothing boss destroy him!" Josh's crew shouted.

"Duel!" both boys shouted.

**(Josh: 8000) - (Vincent: 8000)**

"Just to show you I can be nice I'll let you go first," Josh said.

"Why thanks Josh but you'll come to regret that later," Vincent said with a grin drawing six cards. "I'll start us off with Card Destruction!" both duelists discarded their hands and drew five new cards.

"Hope you weren't holding any great cards Josh," the Dragon/Rider duelist taunted. "I summon the mighty Electro Rider!" in a burst of electricity the spear wielding Rider jumped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 1400) "Then I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."

Josh cocked an eyebrow. _"He's got something planned, I'd best be careful he gave Reina trouble and that means he's either good or lucky,"_ he thought.

"I'll start off by summoning my Luster Dragon!" the sapphire scaled Dragon jumped onto the field and snarled. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 1600)

"Luster Dragon tear up his Rider with your Sapphire Slasher!" Luster Dragon roared and leapt at the Warrior.

"I activate one of my face downs!" Vincent cried. "Go, Call of the Haunted and I'll use it to revive The Creator!" the ground exploded and a monster that seemed to be made of orange metal burst out of the ground. (LV8/ATK 2300/DEF 3000)

"Fine I'll continue attacking your Warrior!" the Dragon continued on its course to tear apart Vincent's monster.

"I activate my other card!" the white haired duelist shouted. "Staunch Defender, and thanks to this Trap card I control what monster you're attacking and that'll be my Creator!" Luster Dragon skidded to a halt then turned to the behemoth. The Creator raised on of its hands and fired a bolt of lightning vaporizing the Dragon.

**(Josh: 7600) - (Vincent: 8000)**

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh said.

"Ok I'm going to activate The Creator's effect which allows me to revive a monster in my Graveyard and all I have to do to bring that monster back is discard a card so I'll revive my Ice Dragon!" the light blue Dragon burst out of the ground and hissed at Josh. (LV7ATK 2700/DEF 1900) "Of course I could Special Summon an Ice Rider from my hand if I held one but since I don't I get to draw a card."

"Ice Dragon attack him directly with Instant Freeze!" the large Dragon breathed a wave of cold but Josh merely smirked and pressed a button on his Duel Disk.

"Reverse card open!" he shouted. "Dark Wall of Wind!" a blast of black swirling wind appeared around Josh deflecting the attack. "For the rest of this turn direct attacks cannot harm me."

"Crap," Vincent swore. "Ok I'll just set a card face down and move my Creator to defense mode then call it a turn."

"I activate Cost Down," Josh said. "I simply discard a card and then the levels of all monsters in my hand are lower by two like this guy Armed Dragon LV5!" Josh threw a card into his Graveyard and then a large Dragon with dark red skin covered in dark brown armor with blades sticking out of various places appeared. (LV5-3/ATK 2400/DEF 1700)

"Now I activate his effect and discard my Tyrant Dragon to destroy a monster with equal to or less attack points than Tyrant Dragon which stands at 2900 so say goodbye to the Creator!" Armed Dragon roared and the spikes and blades on its body fired small balls of energy that flew at the behemoth.

"Oh no you don't I'm activating my face down card!" Vincent counted as his face down card flipped up. "Go Effect Guidance which allows me to pick where your effects hits and although it saddens me to do this goodbye Electro Rider," the shrapnel locked onto the knight who raised their shield to block but were quickly cut down.

"So you care for your monsters, I can respect that," Josh said with a smile. "For a king with no subjects is no king at all!"

"Well that's well said but what are you going to do your Armed Dragon is too weak to take out either of my monsters," Vincent informed Josh.

"Yes I can see that," Josh grumbled. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn." (LV3-5/ATK 2400/DEF 1700)

"Ok I'm going to activate my Dragonic Greed which lets me discard a monster with Dragon in its name to the Graveyard to draw twice, so I'll give up Ruby Dragon," Vincent dropped the monster into his Graveyard and pulled two off the top of his Deck.

"Now I'll summon Ice Rider!" in another burst of cold the light blue armored Rider jumped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 1300) "And I'm not done yet I activate Dragon Treasury!" the Continuous Spell card with Felgrand Dragon on it appeared next to Vincent.

"Ice Dragon destroy his Armed Dragon with Instant Freeze!" the larger Dragon roared and fired a blast that encased the red Dragon in a block of ice that shattered seconds later.

**(Josh: 7300) - (Vincent: 8000)**

"Ok Ice Rider attack him directly!" Ice Rider raised their spear only to shake their head and lower it. "Umm Ice Rider what are you doing?"

"He can't attack because of my Quick-Play card," Josh smirked. "My Tragedy on Temple Grounds prevents your monsters from attacking me directly the turn one or more of my monsters were destroyed by battle."

"Oh cool card would you be willing to trade it?" Vincent asked.

A drop of sweat rolled down the back of the blond boy's head. "No but that's really something you should ask after a duel is over."

"Heh, ok I'll set a card face down and end my turn by activating my Ice Rider's effect do it!" Ice Ride jumped into the air and landed on their partner's back. "This increases my Dragon's attack and defense by 200 and grants another effect oh and I almost forgot since my Dragon trashed one of your monsters I get to draw a card." (LV7/ATK 2700-2900/DEF 1900-2100)

"I activate Brain Control," Josh smirked as the floating brain appeared and pulled Ice Dragon and its Rider over to Josh's side of the field. "For the cost of 800 Life Points I get your Ice Dragon until the End Phase but it won't be staying that long."

**(Josh: 6500) - (Vincent: 8000)**

"Oh you wouldn't dare do that," Vincent said.

"You mean releasing your Dragon to call out my Kaiser Glider!" Ice Dragon bowed its head and vanished with its Rider and was replaced with the golden Dragon bird monster. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 2200) "Of course since I can't destroy your Creator I'll just set a card face down and end my turn."

Vincent drew and nodded to himself. "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn."

"I'll activate Raigeki Break and all I have to do is discard a card and then another card on the field is destroyed like your Creator!" a bolt of lightning struck The Creator blowing him to slag.

"Now I summon Axe Dragonute!" a large humanoid Dragon dressed in black armor and not surprisingly holding a large axe flew onto the field. (LV4/ATK 2000/DEF 1200)

"Kaiser Glider destroy his face down monster with Golden Flames!" Kaiser Glider coated itself in fire and flew forward immolate the face down monster.

"That was my Apprentice Rider and since you destroyed him and sent him to the Graveyard I get to add a Rider from my Deck to my hand," Vincent explained as a card popped out of his Duel Disk.

"It doesn't matter right now at least Dragonute get him!" the armored Dragon man roared and slashed Vincent with his axe causing the white haired boy to stumble back.

**(Josh: 6500) - (Vincent: 6000)**

"I activate my face down card!" Vincent cried. "Go Blazing Blue Flare!" blue flames appear on Vincent's side of the field.

"Huh what does that do?" Josh asked.

"It allows me to Special Summon a level six or lower Dragon type monster from my Deck or Graveyard if I take 2000 or more points of damage from a single direct attack so give it up for Blue Flare Dragon!" the flames took shape of a mechanical Dragon with no arms and a single red visor for an eyes. (LV5/ATK 2300/DEF 1800)

"That thing looks more like a Machine than a Dragon," Josh muttered.

"It is a Machine but its effect is while it's in the Deck or Graveyard or on the field its also treated as a Dragon and of course it has the same effect my other Dragon's have so I can now Special Summon Blue Flare Rider from my hand!" another robotic figure jumped onto the field this one was humanoid but bore a resemblance to Blue Flare Dragon. (LV3ATK 1300/DEF 1200)

"Ok well since my Dragonute attacked it moves into defense mode," the armored Dragon folded its wings to cover itself.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh said.

"You look a little freaked out by my new monsters Josh," Vincent grinned.

"Well there's something about them not right," the Dragon duelist muttered.

"Well the thing is there is something wrong with them," the Dragon/Rider duelist told him. "These two are proto-types of what was to become the defense force of the Dragon and Rider's fortress but something went wrong and they became self aware and rebelled against their masters and nearly wiped out the Dragon Riders."

"I don't get how that could've happened neither of them is stronger than your Ice Dragon or its Rider," Josh said a large question mark popping up over his head.

"It's because they can do this! I remove my Blue Flare Dragon and Rider to Special Summon Blue Flare Dragon Slayer!" the visors of both the Dragon and Rider lit up and they jumped into the air and transformed into two beams of light that collided producing an explosion of flames.

A monster slowly descended to the field, it stood about ten to twelve feet tall and was humanoid with Blue Flare Dragon's tail now acting at the left arm and its head and neck acting as the right. (LV8/ATK 2700/DEF 2100) "Meet the very thing that nearly brought and end to the Dragon Riders and it could because it is totally unaffected by magic so even my Spells don't effect it!" Vincent laughed.

"Dragon Slayer destroy Kaiser Glider!" the mechanical Dragon roared and flew forward its left armed raised above its head.

"Trident Arm!" it roared in a guttural robotic voice. Its arm smashed down on the golden Dragon crushing it but Kaiser Glider's spirit appeared and flew at the Dragon Slayer.

**(Josh: 6200) - (Vincent: 6000)**

"Heh well now since you destroyed my Kaiser Glider one card will be returning to its owner's hand or Extra Deck in your Dragon Slayer's case!" Josh laughed.

Just as the spirit was about to hit the mechanical Dragon robot, a card fell out of Vincent's Graveyard and he slipped it into his pocket. The Dragon Slayer roared and Kaiser Glider's spirit shattered.

"What just happened?" Josh asked.

"Well it wouldn't be much of a Dragon Slayer if Dragons could affect it in some way so if I remove a Dragon type monster from my Graveyard I can negate the effect of a Dragon type monster that would target my monster," Vincent explained. "I added this card to my Deck just to use against you."

"Great," the Dragon duelist hissed.

"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Vincent said. "And of course my monster does still count as a Dragon so my Spell card activates."

Josh drew and muttered something under his breath. "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn."

"Ok I'll start my turn off by activating Dragon's Rage so all my Dragon monsters will now inflict piercing damage and then I'll follow that with Berserker Assault so my Dragon Slayer can attack all of your monster!" Vincent grinned.

"Oh crap!" Josh shouted.

"Dragon Slayer attack!" the robotic monster flew into the air and leaned forward revealing several cannons attached to its wings. "Giga Destroyer!" it roared before unleashing a burst of laser fire that rained down on Axe Dragonute and Josh's face down monster which was revealed to be Golem Dragon.

**(Josh: 4000) - (Vincent: 6000)**

Josh skidded back from the blast and growled. _"Shit I underestimated this guy and now I'm two grand behind in points."_

"Ok I'll end my turn," Vincent said.

Josh drew. "Come on Deck show me some love," he said quietly.

He looked at what he drew and grinned. "I activate Pot of Greed!" the grinning jug floated onto the field and Josh drew.

"I activate Double Summon so now I can well make two normal Summons this turn and the first will be Cave Dragon!" the large lazy Dragon stomped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 2000/DEF 100) "Then I'm calling out my Delta Flyer!" the small razor winged Dragon flew onto the field. (LV3/ATK 1500/DEF 900)

"Now I'll use my Delta Flyer's effect and increase my Cave Dragon's level by one until the End Phase!" the smaller Dragon flew over the larger one and started to glow. (LV4-5/ATK 2000/DEF 100)

"Now I tune my level three, Delta Flyer and my now level five, Cave Dragon!" Josh began.

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" _

Delta Flyer launched itself skyward and became three Synchro gates. They surrounded Cave Dragon who became five stars. With a thunderous roar Josh's ace monster descended onto the field. (LV8/ATK 3000/DEF 2000) It took one look at Vincent's monster and roared with pure rage. "I think Red Dragon will be more than happy to shred your monster," Josh chuckled.

"I honestly can't blame him but my question is do you want to attack?" Vincent asked tauntingly.

"Red Dragon attack his Dragon Slayer, Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon roared and flew at the Dragon Slayer its hand ignited.

"Reveal face down card Mirror Force!" the Dragon Rider duelist shouted. "So kiss your Red Dragon goodbye!"

"Or not I reveal my face down card Trap Jammer!" a seal appeared under Vincent's Trap card causing it to shatter. Seconds later Red Dragon's claw impacted with the mechanical Dragon causing it to burst into flames.

**(Josh: 4000) - (Vincent: 5700)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Josh smirked. "Let's see if you can make a come back."

"Be careful what you wish for Josh," Vincent said. "You might get it."

"I activate Monster Soul Tablet with this card I remove a monster from my Graveyard and then as long as this card remains face up it's effect is treated as the removed monster's like say my Creator!" a large stone slab appeared behind Vincent and The Creator's image was etched onto it. "Then I'll activate my face down Double Cyclone and use it to destroyed my Dragon Treasury and your face down card!" the dual whirlwinds flew across the field destroying both cards.

"Now I'll summon Solar Rider!" the yellow and blue armored Rider jumped onto the field and spun his spear around. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1800) "And I'm not done yet because I use my Soul Table's effect and discard my Discard Clause to Special Summon Solar Dragon!" the ground burst open and Solar Rider's mount appeared on the field growling at Red Dragon. (LV7/ATK 2600/DEF 2200)

"Your monster has some nerve growling at Red Dragon but I must admit it may have a power to stand up to him," Josh smirked.

"Oh he does he just lets me draw another card since I don't have Solar Rider in my hand," Vincent explained. "Solar Rider do it!" Solar jumped into the air landing on the Dragon's back. (LV7/ATK 2600-3000/DEF 2200-2600)

"And before you interrupt me and tell me our monsters are even in attack power well my Rider gives Solar Dragon a deadly effect and all I have to do is discard card and your Red Dragon is well dead!" Vincent dropped a card into his Graveyard and Solar Dragon roared and fired a beam of light that struck Red Dragon disintegrating it. "Of course I'm not allowed to attack with him this turn so I'll simply end my turn with a face down card."

"You've got to be running low on Deck by this point," Josh said. "You've been throwing cards into your Graveyard since the duel started."

"I am getting low on Deck but I'll finish this before I Deck out," Vincent grinned sheepishly.

"Well see about that," Josh said. "I'll set a monster and a card face down and end my turn."

"I'll summon Wind Rider!" in a burst of wind the green armored Rider appeared next to Solar Dragon. (LV3/ATK 1100/DEF 800)

"Solar Dragon attack his face down monster with Solar Beam!" Solar Dragon spread its wings absorbing sunlight before firing a beam of pure light and annihilating a Masked Dragon.

**(Josh: 2100) - (Vincent: 5700)**

"I'll activate my Masked Dragon's effect to Special Summon another Masked Dragon in defense mode!" another red and white Dragon appeared in a ball of fire. (LV3/ATK 1400/DEF 1100)

"Ok I'll have to end my turn," Vincent muttered.

Josh's Graveyard started to glow. "I activate a card I sent to the Graveyard thanks to your Card Destruction, Buried Treasure and all I have to do is skip my Draw Phase and I get to draw four cards!" a card was ejected from Josh's Graveyard and he pulled four cards off his Deck.

"Now I reveal my face down card Call of the Haunted and use it to revive my Tyrant Dragon!" the rust coloured Dragon burst out of the ground in a pillar of fire. (LV8/ATK 2900/DEF 2500) "Of course I have to release another Dragon and Masked Dragon will do, so sorry." Tyrant Dragon quickly devoured Masked Dragon much to Josh's disgust.

"And I haven't Normal Summon yet so come on my last Masked Dragon!" an exact duplicate of the just released monster appeared and glared at Tyrant Dragon.

Vincent cocked an eyebrow but before he could speak Josh interrupted him. "I activate Rush Recklessly to power up my Tyrant Dragon!" a burning red aura appeared around the Dragon Lord. (LV8/ATK 2900-3600/DEF 2500)

"This is going to hurt," Vincent muttered.

"Tyrant Dragon destroy his Solar Dragon with Tyrant's Blaze!" Tyrant Dragon spewed a stream of flames annihilating Solar Dragon's Rider. (LV7/ATK 3000-2600/DEF 2600-2200)

**(Josh: 2100) - (Vincent: 5100)**

"Since you still have monsters Tyrant Dragon destroy Solar Dragon!" Tyrant Dragon fired another torrent of flames destroying Solar Dragon.

**(Josh: 2100) - (Vincent: 4100)**

"Masked Dragon destroy Wind Rider!" Masked Dragon spat a ball of fire slaying the Rider.

**(Josh: 2100) - (Vincent: 3800)**

"I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" Vincent shouted. The Pot of Greed appeared yet again and both duelists drew. "Now I'll activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and Vincent quickly handed her two cards.

Vincent cleared his throat. "Ok Josh what I have to say is well a tad hammy but please don't interrupt me."

"Fine if even you think you'll sound like a ham then I have to hear this," Josh grinned.

"Good well you probably haven't seen it but sometimes in my Deck rests the Divine Rider and Dragon the very first Rider and Dragon team before the two species fought endlessly, so Divine Rider sought and truce and the Egyptian Gods or avatars of them agreed it would be a wise idea to have a defense force but there was a cost the three Sacred Beasts while sealed away used some of their power to create dark parody of Divine Rider, the two met and clashed for well what seemed like days and no one knows who won in the end both combatants died but this was for the better because the wicked Rider sought to annihilate all life to betray the very beings that had created it, it was pure evil more of a force of nature than anything Divine Rider represents the beginning this dark beast represents the end! It is the omega to the alpha!"

"That was pretty hammy," Josh said with a drop of sweat rolling down the back of his head along with several members of the audience.

"Our boy sure takes after his father," Vincent's mother chuckled.

"I wasn't that much of a ham was I?" his father asked.

"In your Pro League days you were very hammy dear," his wife answered. "But I love that about you two."

"Ok let me see this terrible monster!" Josh challenged.

"Ok first I activate my Tablet's effect and revive the Rider's mount Phantasm Dragon!" the tablet shook and purple mist slowly seeped out. It started to swirl together soon forming a dragon like shape. The Dragon had dead grey scales and wore dark red, blue and yellow armor it opened its six glowing red eyes and simply looked at Josh like he wasn't there. (LV8/ATK 2900/DEF 2700)

"I get to draw a card and then I activate my face down card Roll Out! It allows me to select a Union monster in my Graveyard and equip it to the right monster of course every Dragon is the right monster so arise Phantasm Rider!" the ground shook and a large coffin burst out of the ground. It disintegrated revealing a Warrior or a Fiend it was hard to tell, it's boots were red with yellow half rings on them, its helm was blue with curved horns on the side, its left gauntlet was red its right was yellow. It spread its demon like wings and opened its own six red eyes. It then floated over to its mount and seemed to fuse with it. (LV6/ATK 2300/DEF 2100) (LV8/ATK 2900-3300/DEF 2700-3100)

Josh looked at the wicked Warrior and felt one thing, pure evil this monster may or may not have a spirit but if it did it was twisted. "Crap," Josh swore.

"Crap is right," Vincent smirked. He knew this thing was evil but he wanted to use it once. "Phantasm Dragon destroy his Masked Dragon with Annihilator Beam!" the Dragon opened its maw and the Rider held up its hands both fired a beam of pure energy that consumed Masked Dragon.

**(Josh: 200) - (Vincent: 3800)**

"Oh and any monster the Phantasm is joined with gains the power to erase things from existence," Vincent explained.

"You mean it removes any card it destroys from play?" Josh asked.

"Yep so your Masked Dragon's effect is nullified!" the Dragon/Rider duelist laughed.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Vincent said.

Josh reached for his Deck. _"Ok if I don't draw something good I lose and I can't avenge Alexandria plus I won't lose in the first round of the finals! So come on Deck let's kick his ass!"_

Josh pulled the card off his Deck and smirked. "I summon Magna Drago!" the arrow headed Tuner Dragon appeared in a ball of flames. (LV2/ATK 1400/DEF 600)

"I'll set a card face down and activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face down!" Vincent gasped in horror as his face down card exploded into pixels.

"Then I tune my two monsters together to so you can meet my very first ACE!" Josh roared.

"_All those who dare to oppose the king will face his most deadly minion! His burning soul decimating all who stand before him! Synchro Summon incinerate it all, Trident Dragion!"_

Magna Drago flew high into the sky with Tyrant Dragon right behind it. The small Dragon became two green rings that surrounded the Dragon Lord turning it into framework. The burst of fire enveloped Josh leaving only an outline of him. The three headed Dragon Synchro roared dispelling the flames. (LV10/ATK 3000/DEF 2800) "Meet the instrument of your defeat!" Josh laughed.

Vincent only gave Josh a quizzical look and the blond boy stopped laughing. "Since my Dragon was just Synchro Summoned I can destroy up to two cards and then it gains an additional attack for each card I destroyed so goodbye one face down and Call of the Haunted!" the two cards were incinerated and Josh threw another card into his Duel Disk. "Then I activate Megamorph and since my Life Points are way lower than yours my monster's attack points double!" a strange symbol appeared on Trident Dragion's chest and it grew to twice it's size. (ATK 3000-6000/DEF 2800)

"Any last words before I toast you?" Josh asked menacingly.

"Oh shit," Vincent swore his eyes nearly bursting out of their sockets.

"Dragion attack that pathetic excuse for a Dragon with Mega Rage Stream!" the now massive Dragon unleashed a pillar of hellfire that consumed the Dragon and Rider. (LV8/ATK 3300-2900/DEF 3100-2700)

**(Josh: 200) - (Vincent: 1100)**

"Dragion end this!" Josh roared and his monster readied another attack.

"For the love of God I surrender I'm not ready to die!" Vincent shouted waving his hands in defeat.

**(Josh: 200) - (Vincent: 0)**

The crowd was silent but after a second exploded into cheer. "Our winner Joshua Atlas!" the M.C. shouted.

Josh walked over to Vincent and starred him down. "I guess you think I'm a cowered for give up oh well," Vincent grinned rubbing the back of his head.

Josh held out his fist and smirked. Vincent blinked a few times then fist bumped Josh. "Anyone would've surrendered in that kind of situation most would've done it the moment Trident Dragion went past Obelisk you have guts too bad you're Reina's friend."

Vincent grinned. "Hey don't sell her short she beat me maybe she'll beat you." The two left the platform and Archer walked on stage. A holographic screen with Reina, Zeke, Talia and Josh's faces appeared on it.

"I hope you all enjoyed the duels today because tomorrow it will be Reina Fudo vs. Zeke Kessler then Talia Yakushi vs. Joshua Atlas and after that the final duel so be here tomorrow!" he announced.

The break room

Vincent sat down on the couch and sighed. "You did awesome," Rob grinned.

"Thanks Rob but I'm not really disappointed," the white haired boy grinned. "Well maybe a tiny bit but that duel was fun so I'm glad."

"And tomorrow it'll be the love birds against each other," Rob snickered.

"Can you two go full out?" Vincent asked.

"I always go full out during a tournament," Reina said. "So sorry Zeke but tomorrow I will be the one to come out on top then I'll crush Archer!"

"I understand how you feel but I'd never give up," Zeke told her. "I'll be taking the crown I'll be King!"

"You're both wrong because I'll claim the throne after I hammer Archer into the ground," Josh said.

"Whatever let's head home and get some rest," Rob muttered.

**Zeke: Well looks like Rob owes me some money.**

**Rob: Argh why'd I have to bet against Josh!**

**Vincent: Once again some friends your two are!**

**Reina: You did good Vincent.**

**Morton: Even I'll admit the boss was in a tight spot for a moment there.**

**Josh: Morton where'd you come from?**

**Talia: Umm ok don't miss the next chapter King of Death!**

**Original Cards**

Effect Guidance

Image: Old Vindictive Magician firing a blast of energy that's curving off its proper path.

| Trap | You can activate this card when one of your monsters is targeted by a monster effect controled by your opponent. Switch the target to another monster you control.

Tragedy on Temple Grounds

Image: Dark Blade standing in the middle of a Buddhist Temple with several bodies around him.

| Quick-Play Spell | Activate this card during your opponent's Battle Phase when one or more of your monster(s) is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard. Your opponent may not attack your directly.

Blazing Blue Flare

Image: The Rider's Court with several large fires burning and the Riders battling an unseen foe.

| Trap | Activate during a Battle Phase in which you take 2000 or more points of damage from a single attack. Special Summon a level six or lower Dragon type monster from your Deck or Graveyard.

Blue Flare Dragon

Fire | Level 5 | Machine/Effect | 2300/1800 | While this card exists in the Deck, Graveyard or is on the field it is treated as a Dragon. When this card is summoned you may Special Summon a 'Blue Flare Rider' from your hand. If you don't have a 'Blue Flare Rider' in your hand when you summon this card you may draw one card.

Blue Flare Rider

Fire | Level 3 | Machine/Union | 1300/1200 | | While this card exists in the Deck, Graveyard or is on the field it is treated as a Warrior. Once per turn you may equip this card to a 'Blue Flare Dragon you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. When this card is equipped you may select a type of monster and if the equipped monster battles a monster of the named type it is removed from play at the end of the damage step. If the equipped monster would be destroyed you may destroy this card instead.

Blue Flare Dragon Slayer

Fire | Level 8 | Machine/Fusion/Effect | 2700/2100 | Blue Flare Dragon + Blue Flare Rider. This card cannot be Special Summoned from your Extra Deck except by removing from play the above cards you control. This card is unaffected by Spell cards. As long as this card remains face up it is treated at a Dragon type monster. If this card is targeted by the effect of a Dragon type monster you may remove a Dragon type monster from your Graveyard to negate that effect.

Monster Soul Tablet

Image: A stone slab with the image of XYZ-Dragon Cannon on it.

| Continuous Spell | Select and remove from play one monster in your Graveyard. As long as this card remains face up on the field it's effect is treated as the removed monster's effect.

Buried Treasure

Image: Several people digging up a large chest.

| Trap | During your Standby Phase you may remove this card from your Graveyard to draw four cards. If you activate this effect you must skip your Draw Phase.

Phantasm Dragon

Dark | Level 8 | Dragon/Effect | 2900/2700 | When this card is summoned you may Special Summon a 'Phantasm Rider' from your hand. If you do not have a 'Phantasm Rider' in your hand you may draw one card.

Phantasm Rider

Dark | Level 6 | Warrior/Union | 2300/2100 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a 'Dragon' monster you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. The equipped monster gains 400 attack and defense points and any monster that battles the equipped monster is removed at the end of the damage step.


	35. Ch35: King of Death

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirty-Five: King of Death

Sorry this took so long folks.

The sun shone over the stadium as the group plus Josh waited in the lounge before the semi-finals were due to begin. It would all be Ground Duels this round and the finals would be a Turbo Duel.

Zeke, Reina and Josh looked at their Deck confident in the changes they had made. Zeke sighed, his father had talked to him the previous night, he didn't sound too angry but he had told Zeke he couldn't use Hundred-Eyes Wyrm unless he had no choice.

"Well hello losers," a familiar female voice laughed. Talia stood by the door with an evil grin on her face. "So your highness are you ready for a beat down just like you pathetic little girlfriend suffered."

Josh snarled and stomped over to Talia. He stood in front of her glaring down at her. "No Talia I'm going to beat you, because in the end all you are is a bully."

Talia hissed and was about to snap back with something but she got cut off the second she opened her mouth. "Don't interrupt me," Josh snarled. "Listen well Talia, you are a bully, no calling you a bully is somehow not a good enough insult because you're probably proud you're a bully. No I can't really think of something except maybe calling you a worthless pawn, but really even pawns have worth, I'd call you garbage but at least garbage has some uses, no you're just nothing, no one likes you, your boss is just using you, your simply pitiful. That scar fits you because you're as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside. Oh and Alexandria had the upper hand in that duel for a while so shut your trap!"

Josh walked away and sat down on the couch. Reina's group looked shocked and Talia was just stood there stuttering and turning red in the face. "Y…y…you!" she stuttered before walking away.

The group looked at Josh with a mixture of respect and terror. Reina walked over to him. "Thanks for shutting her up," she whispered to the blond boy.

"I didn't do it for you," he muttered. "I did it because I hate her, I just dislike you."

Reina grinned. "Sure Josh you can keep telling yourself that," she chuckled before walking away.

Josh rolled his eyes but smiled a bit. "Hmph I will then," he muttered.

"Will Reina Fudo and Zeke Kessler please proceed to the dueling stage!" a voice over the intercom shouted.

The two looked at each other and nodded before walking out. "This should be good," Rob grinned munching on some popcorn.

"Where did you get that?" Josh asked.

"I brought it from home and there's a microwave over there." Rob said pointing to a smaller table next to the table with the food where there was indeed a microwave.

"Alright," the Dragon duelist muttered.

The dueling stage

"Hello everyone, welcome to the second day of the finals of this fine tournament, today the final two duelists will be choose and tomorrow they'll square off!" Archer announced before handing the mike to the M.C.

"Presenting the first two semi-finalists!" he shouted. "Reina Fudo and Zeke Kessler!" two bursts of smoke appeared on either end of the stage and the two teens were appeared ready to duel.

"Begin!" the M.C. cried and the pair pulled five cards off the top of their Decks.

"I'll let you make the first move Zeke," Reina said.

"Thank you Reina," Zeke said drawing his sixth card.

"Duel!" the both shouted.

**(Zeke: 8000) - (Reina: 8000)**

"I'll start it off with a monster face down in defense mode and a card face down," he said as the two cards appeared in front of him. "And with that my turn is over."

"Alright I'll summon Gigantic Cephalotus!" from behind Reina the massive pitcher Plant burst out of the ground and onto her side of the field. (LV4/ATK 1850/DEF 700)

"Attack his face down monster!" the massive Plant charged forward intending to devour Zeke's face down monster only to be repelled by a typical looking Fiend except it was robotic. (LV4/ATK 1000/DEF 2000)

**(Zeke: 8000) - (Reina: 7850)**

"That's my Cyber Archfiend and its defense is just a little too strong to crack," Zeke said.

"Well first blood to you," Reina muttered. "I'll just set two face down cards and end my turn."

"I'm about to draw even more," the Fiend duelist said slapping a card onto his Duel Disk. "I release my Cyber Archfiend for Skull Archfiend of Lightning!" a bolt of lightning struck the robotic Fiend blowing it to scrap. In its place appeared the wicked version of the Summoned Skull. (LV6/ATK 2500/DEF 1200)

"Destroy her Cephalotus with Dark Lightning!" the Fiend hissed and blasted Reina's monster with a burst of electricity.

**(Zeke: 8000) - (Reina: 7200)**

"I'll end my turn by activating Pandemonium!" he announced as the stadium was transported to the demon's den.

"I hope you don't think you'll be holding your lead for very long," Reina said with a smirk.

"Nope I'm hoping to win this duel," Zeke answered.

"Maybe in your dreams," the Plant duelist countered.

"So then I should take a nap?" Zeke asked sarcastically.

"Ok enough witty banter and back to the duel," Reina said rolling her eyes. "I'll set a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"I summon Shadowknight Archfiend!" from a powerful whirlwind emerged an Archfiend with long blue hair and a sword for an arm. (LV4ATK 2000/DEF 1600)

Zeke rubbed his chin and contemplated the situation. _"Ok now what to attack with first?"_ he asked himself.

"Come Zeke if I knew your turns were going to take this long I would've brought something to read," Reina taunted.

"Be patient Reina the best moves in chess take time and will pay off for a smart player," Zeke said wagging his finger.

"This isn't chess," Reina said. "This is a duel, but I'll agree with you on that second point."

"Alright Skull Archfiend fry her face down monster!" the Fiend fired another bolt of lightning vaporizing a familiar three eyed Fiend.

"That was my Sangan and since it just bit the dust I get a weak monster from my Deck," Reina informed him before a card slipped out of her Deck.

"Alright so I messed up with that move," Zeke sighed. "Shadowknight attack her directly!" the armored Fiend flew forward and slashed Reina causing her to stumble back.

**(Zeke: 8000) - (Reina: 6200)**

"I'm glad your monster can only do half the damage he should," Reina grinned.

"Oh well," Zeke shrugged. "I'll end my turn by activating Field Barrier, so now you can't destroy or displace Pandemonium."

"Just great," Reina sighed.

"I'll start this turn off by activating Graceful Charity," the angel appeared and looked around nervously as the two Fiend's sneered. Reina handed her two cards and she vanished.

Zeke cocked an eyebrow, he'd never seen the two cards Reina just discarded in his life and that worried him.

"Now I'll summon the card I got with Sangan my Lonefire Blossom!" from the ground burst a small bulb with a glowing tip. (LV3/ATK 500/DEF 1400) "Now I release it to activate its effect and Special Summon from my Deck, my Gigaplant!" the ground behind Reina exploded and the mass of vines with a venus flytrap for a head burst out. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 1200)

"And before you mention that it's too weak to beat your Skull Archfiend I activate Plant Food Chain which gives Gigaplant a small boost," the Trap card fused with the monster causing it to glow green. (LV6/ATK 2400-2900/DEF 1200) "Gigaplant attack his Skull Archfiend!"

The giant Plant lumbered forward and Zeke smirked as his face down card flipped open. "Reveal face down card Bark of Dark Ruler and I'll pay 500 Life Points to weaken your monster," the Dark Ruler appeared and snarled at the Plant causing it to back down briefly. (LV6/ATK 2900-2400/DEF 1200)

**(Zeke: 7500) - (Reina: 7200)**

"I activate Rush Recklessly!" Reina shouted as Gigaplant started to glow red. (LV6/ATK 2400-3100/DEF 1200) The massive Plant monster roared and slashed Zeke's monster with one of its arms causing the Fiend to cry out and shatter.

**(Zeke: 6900) - (Reina: 7200)**

"I'll end my turn," Reina said. (LV6/ATK 3100-2900/DEF 1200)

"I'll move my Shadowknight into defense mode and then I'll play a card face down and end my turn," Zeke sighed.

"I'll summon my Bird of Roses," a large bird made of leaves flew out of the portal and screeched. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1500)

"Bird attack his Shadowknight!" the bird flew into the air and then dove down towards with Fiend with its talons raised.

"Reverse card open!" Zeke cried. "I activate Negate Attack!" the bird slammed into the swirling vortex.

"Alright I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Reina said.

"Good I'm going to summon my Dark Resonator!" the grinning Fiend floated out of the portal and cackled at Reina. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 300)

"Oh crap," Reina muttered her eyes widening in horror.

"Crap is right because I'm going to tune my level three, Dark Resonator with my level four, Shadowknight…," Zeke began.

"_The true king of hell charges straight into battle, his very presence makes his enemies quake in terror! Synchro Summon and incinerate Chaos King Archfiend!"_

Dark Resonator banged its tuning fork with its drumstick causing it to shatter into three green rings. The rings surrounded Shadowknight causing it to become see through.

From the burst of light descended the masked Archfiend king its eyes fixed on Reina's field. (LV7/ATK 2600/DEF 2600)

"Chaos King attack her Gigaplant with Chaotic Slash!" the masked ruler charged forward and for a moment everything seemed to freeze and Bird of Roses and Gigaplant started to weaken. (LV6/ATK 2900 = 1200/DEF 1200 = 2900) (LV4/ATK 1800 = 1500/DEF 1500 = 1800)

"As you might remember when my monster attacks any monsters you have that are face up have their attack and defense points switch bonuses go with them," Zeke explained.

"I know and I'm activating my face down card Scrap-Iron Scarecrow to block your attack!" one of Reina's face down cards flipped open and the junk scarecrow started to float out.

"I chain Trap Stun and it negates the effects of all Trap cards," a wave of electricity shot out of the Trap card causing Plant Food Chain and Scrap-Iron Scarecrow to turn grey. The masked Archfiend roared and slashed Gigaplant into pieces.

**(Zeke: 6900) - (Reina: 5800)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Zeke said and Reina's Trap card shattered. (LV4/ATK 1500 = 1800/DEF 1800 = 1500)

Reina drew and grinned slightly. "Ok I'll set monster face down and move Bird of Roses to defense mode."

"I'll summon Archfiend General!" from the magma pit flew an Archfiend holding a sword made of bone and wearing a cape. (LV4/ATK 2100/DEF 800)

"Wait 2100 attack points on a four star what's the catch?" Reina asked.

"Simple if Pandemonium goes so does he," Zeke answered. "General destroy the bird and King destroy the face down monster!" the two monsters flew forward and cleaved both Reina's monsters in half.

"Thanks Zeke," Reina chuckled as her Graveyard started to glow.

"Huh what's going on?" Zeke asked pressing a button on his Disk. "Lord Poison crap!"

"Right and I'll use Lord Poison's effect to revive Gigaplant!" the living mass of vines burst out of the ground behind Reina. "

"I'll end my turn," Zeke grumbled.

"I'll activate the effect of one of my newest monsters in my Graveyard and all it requires is for me to discard the top card of from my Deck," she said.

Reina dropped the top card into the Graveyard and a much smaller at least compared to Gigaplant floated out of the ground. (LV1/ATK 100/DEF 100)

"Now reveal face down card Windstorm of Etaqua!" a powerful blast of wind shot out of the card forcing Zeke's monsters to crouch down and shield themselves. "This forces both your monsters into defense mode and now I'll tune my level one, Grow-Up Bulb and my level six, Gigaplant!"

"_Clustering wishes will ignite to create a fiery new force! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"_

Grow-Up Bulb became a single Synchro Gate that surrounded Gigaplant causing it to become wireframe. From the flames appeared Black Rose Dragon. (LV7/ATK 2400/DEF 1800) "Now I'll remove Grow-Up Bulb to activate Black Rose Dragon's effect on your Chaos King, go Rose Restriction!" the Signer Dragon's vines shot forward forcing the king to stand. (LV7/ATK 2600-0/DEF 2600)

"Black Rose Dragon destroy his Chaos King with Black Rose Flare!" Reina's one ace monster threw back her head and spewed a blast of flames incinerating the Fiendish ruler.

**(Zeke: 4500) - (Reina: 5800)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina said.

"Heh Black Rose won't be staying around for long because I'll move my General to attack mode and then activate my Rush Recklessly!" the Fiend started to glow fiery red. (LV4/ATK 2100-2800/DEF 800) "Now attack her monster!"

"Nice try Zeke but I activate my face down card Synchro Deflector so your General is destroyed!" just as Zeke's monster was about to land the killing blow the Trap blocked it causing him to shatter.

"Alright I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Zeke grumbled.

"Black Rose Dragon attack him directly!" Reina's monster roared and fired another cone of flames.

"Reveal face down card Call of the Haunted and I'll bring back my Dark Resonator!" the grinning Fiend burst out of the ground and the flames vanished.

"Black Rose Dragon continue your attack!" Black Rose Dragon fired another blast of flames but Zeke grinned.

"Reverse card open!" he cried. "Go, Defense Draw and I doubt I have to explain this to you Reina," the flames bounced off Dark Resonator and Zeke drew a card.

"Alright I'll end my turn with a card face down," Reina sighed.

"Good because I'm going to activate Resonator Tag Out!" he said activating a Spell that showed Clock Resonator and Creation Resonator in a wrestling ring high fiving. "This card allows me to send a Resonator monster on my Field back to my Deck to Special Summon a Resonator monster of a different Attribute, like Flare Resonator!" Dark Resonator waved goodbye and was replaced by its fiery counterpart. (LV3/ATK 300/DEF 1300)

"Now I'll summon my Infernal Queen!" in a burst of dark flames appeared the female ruler of the Archfiends. (LV4/ATK 900/DEF 1500)

"Now I'll tune them together!" he announced.

"_When the star of death reaches its peak in the sky the king of death will appear to judge the living! Descend forth to reap! The King of Divine Punishment, Black Highlander!"_

Flare Resonator banged its tuning fork with its hammer becoming three rings. Infernal Queen flew high into the air and was surrounded by the rings which became a glowing sphere. The sphere was sliced to pieces and a large armored Fiend with a skull like face holding a huge scythe crashed into the ground. (LV7/ATK 2800/DEF 2300)

"First things first and that would be Highlander getting a 300 attack point boost thanks to Flare Resonator," a ghostly version of Flare Resonator appeared and fused with the armored Fiend. (LV7/ATK 2800-3100/DEF 2300) "And I'll explain one of Highlander's effects and that is as long as he is on the field neither of us can Synchro Summon." 

"You're kidding me right?" Reina gulped.

"Nope there can be only one," Zeke chuckled and Reina sweatdropped. 

"Fine I'll activate Threatening Roar!" Reina's face down card flipped open and a thunderous roared echoed throughout the Stadium. "So you're not allowed to attack this turn."

"Alright I'll just set two cards face down and call it a turn," he said.

"I'll activate Block Attack to force your King to kneel!" a bolt of energy struck the Fiend causing him to crouch down and shield himself with his scythe. "Now I'll remove my Cephalotus to activate Rose Restriction!" Black Rose Dragon forced The King to stand up. (LV7/ATK 3100-0/DEF 2300)

"Black Rose Dragon destroy his monster!" the petal covered Dragon roared and breathed another cone of purple flames.

"Reverse cards open!" Zeke shouted. "First Emergency Provisions and then I activate Book of Moon to force Black Rose Dragon into face down defense mode, and now Emergency Provisions' effect activates and I'll get rid of Call of the Haunted and Book of Moon."

Black Rose Dragon was replaced with a face down card and the two named cards dissolved into motes of light that surrounded Zeke.

**(Zeke: 6500) - (Reina: 5800)**

"Alright I'll end my turn," Reina sighed. (LV7/ATK 0-3100/DEF 2300)

"I activate Pot of Greed," the grinning jar appeared and Zeke tore two cards off the top of his Deck. "Now I'll summon Lancer Archfiend!" the monster that appeared wore purple and gold armor and in place of hands it hand well two lances its face was hidden from sight. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 1400)

"Highlander attack her Black Rose Dragon with Death Pola-Slay!" the armored Fiend jumped into the air its scythe held high. "And I'll activate Lancer Archfiend's effect which allows me to once per turn have one of my monsters inflict piercing damage like right now!" The armored King slashed the face down card revealing Black Rose Dragon who howled in pain before shattering.

**(Zeke: 6500) - (Reina: 4800)**

"Lancer Archfiend attack Reina directly!" the weapon armed Fiend lunged forward stabbing Reina in the stomach causing her to step back a bit.

**(Zeke: 6500) - (Reina: 3200)**

"I'll end my turn," Zeke said. "Let's see if you can make a come back now Reina."

Reina looked at her hand and scowled. "No but hopefully soon I will be able to," she muttered to herself. "I'll set a monster and another card face down."

"I'll activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" Zeke shouted and the grinning jar appeared again and both duelists drew three cards.

"Highlander attack her face down monster!" the armored Fiend roared and leapt at the face down monster.

"Reverse card open!" Reina shouted. "I'll activate my Hallowed Life Barrier so I just have to discard a card from my hand and until the End Phase you can't damage me."

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Zeke sighed.

"I activate Mark of the Rose and now all I have to do is remove a Plant monster in my Graveyard like say Lord Poison and then I gain control of one of your monsters like Dark Highlander!" a rose shaped mark appeared on the Fiend's armor and he jumped over to Reina's side of the field.

"Now I'll activate Battle Waltz!" the Spell card appeared behind Dark Highlander and it started to glow. After a second an exact duplicate of Dark Highlander hand appeared. (LV7/ATK 3100/DEF 2300) "Battle Waltz creates a Waltz Token that has the same level, Attribute, attack and defense points and type as a face up Synchro monster I control now attack his Lancer Archfiend, Waltz Token!" the fake Highlander slashed the Archfiend with his scythe cleaving it in two.

"Ok not that I'm complaining but why aren't my Life Points damaged?" Zeke asked.

"Simple really neither of us takes damage from battles involving the Waltz Token," the Plant duelist explained. "But this'll will damage you, Dark Highlander sick him!" the Fiend hesitated for a second but then flew at Zeke slashing him with his weapon.

**(Zeke: 3400) - (Reina: 3200)**

"And I'm not quiet done yet because I release your Highlander my Waltz Token to summon my Fallen Angel of Rose!" both monsters vanished and Mark of the Rose shattered. A storm of black rose petals kicked up. The monster that appeared looked human, she had wings that appeared to be made of black rose petals as well as long black hair, in her hand she held a thorn covered whip. (LV7/ATK 2400/DEF 1300)

"Now I'll end my turn," she said.

"I'll activate Tribute to the Doomed so say goodbye to your Fallen Angel!" Zeke threw a card into the Graveyard and then bandages burst out of the ground dragging the Plant monster down.

"Now I'll summon Archfiend Interceptor!" the monster that jumped out of the lava looked like a demonic football player with four skinny arms sticking out of his shoulders. (LV4/ATK 1400/DEF 1600) "Attack her directly!" the Archfiend created a football made of glowing energy and hurled it at Reina.

**(Zeke: 3400) - (Reina: 1800)**

"Looks like this duel will be coming to an end soon," Zeke said.

"Ya with me as the winner," Reina grinned.

"I'll end my turn," he said.

"I summon Cactus Fighter!" from the ground burst the green spiky Plant monster. He threw a few quick warm-up jabs. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 400)

"Now I'll activate Monster Reborn and I'll use it to Special Summon the other monster I ditched with Graceful Charity," the ankh appeared and from it jumped a Warrior dressed mostly in gold armor with a red cape, he held two large serrated knives. (LV3/ATK 1600/DEF 900) "Meet my newest addition, Zubaba Knight."

"Zubaba Knight what a weird name," Zeke muttered.

"Weird or not attack is Archfiend with Zubaba Slash!" the Warrior roared and jumped at the Archfiend his weapons raised.

"Reveal face down card Desert Sunlight so my Archfiend is switched into defense mode and thanks to his effect you take 500 points of damage," a blast of bright light shot out of the card causing the Archfiend to crouch down and shield himself. Moments later he fired a bolt of energy at Reina.

**(Zeke: 3400) - (Reina: 1300)**

"So now my Life Points are safe for this….," Zeke began only to stop when Zubaba Knight sliced his monster in half. "What in the Hell just happened?"

"My monster's effect happened," Reina began to explain with a grin. "He destroys any monster he battles that's in face up defense mode without applying damage calculation oh and Cactus Fighter get him!" the Plant monster rushed forward punching Zeke in the stomach.

**(Zeke: 1500) - (Reina: 1300)**

"Alright I'll set a card face down and end my turn," she said.

"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Zeke said.

"Not a bad try but I'm going to call your bluff Zeke Zubaba Knight end this!" the Warrior was about to leap into the air when Zeke's face down card flipped open.

"It's not a bluff!" Zeke cried. "Reveal face down card my Threatening Roar!" another thunderous roar echoed throughout the Stadium.

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina sighed.

"Hold up to your ending your turn I chain Fires of Doomsday," two burst of flame flew out of the Spell card and transformed into two creatures with thin wispy bodies and one eye. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0) x2 "These two are level one Fiend types summoned in defense mode.

"Now I'll release them both to call forth the newest ruler of the Archfiends, the Archfiend Empress!" both Tokens fused together forming a large black bonfire. From the flames emerged a tall female form with two curved horns coming out of the side of her head and a red cape on her back. (LV9/ATK 2900/DEF 2100)

"Wow if your Deck is anything to judge by the Archfiend leaders have a major problem with getting stabbed in the back," Reina muttered.

"They're Fiends Reina it's how they get ahead just look at the artwork for Demotion," Zeke said. "But it's time to end this!"

"Or not!" the Plant duelist shouted pressing a button on her Duel Disk. "Reverse card open Taunt so now your Empress must attack my Cactus Fighter."

"Alright Empress attack her Fighter with Wicked Desolation!" the Empress held her staff up high and fired a bolt of energy that vaporized the Plant monster.

**(Zeke: 1500) - (Reina: 300)**

"I'll end my turn," Zeke said. "It's pretty much do or die time Reina."

Reina drew and sighed. "Too bad I was hoping to end this duel with a bang, oh well."

"What are you talking about?" Zeke asked cocking an eyebrow.

"I activate Enemy Controller and force your queen into defense mode!" the massive game controller appeared behind Reina, the cord shot forward plugging into the Empresses head and forcing her into defense mode. "Now I'll summon my second Lord Poison," a second hideous looking Plant monster appeared giving a low growl. (LV4/ATK 1500/DEF 1000)

"Zubaba Knight attack his Empress!" the armored Warrior rushed forward slicing the Fiend to pieces.

"Lord Poison end it!" the Plant monster roared and lunged at Zeke swiping at him with his claws.

**(Zeke: 0) - (Reina: 300)**

"The winner Reina Fudo!" the M.C. cried. "Now we'll be taking a ten minute break before our next duel, Joshua Atlas vs. Talia Yakushi."

The pair left the duel fields and walked back towards the waiting room. "That was fun," Reina said with a grin.

"It was I wish I could've won," Zeke sighed.

"Don't worry Zeke there will be other duels," Reina said reassuringly.

"I know, oh well the next duel should be good," he muttered.

"Heh, I know Josh will crush that bitch," Reina chuckled.

"Damn right I will," the blond boy said as he walked by.

**Rob: Well the first round of the semi-finals is over.**

**Vincent: Now just Talia vs. Josh.**

**Reina: Josh will win I know it.**

**Zeke: Don't be so sure Talia is tough.**

**Josh: Don't miss Furious Darkness or you'll be sorry.**

**Talia: If you cheer for his majesty expect to be sorry anyway.**

**Original Cards**

Resonator Tag Out

Image: Clock and Creation Resonator in a wrestling ring fiving each other.

| Spell | Select a face up 'Resonator' monster you control then select a 'Resonator' monster in your Deck with a different Attribute and send the first selected monster back to your Deck and Special Summon the second selected monster.


	36. Ch36: Fearful Darkness

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirty-Six: Furious Darkness

"Everybody Listen!" the M.C. shouted. "It's time for the last semi-final duel of the Battle of the Crown Tournament!"

In burst of smoke Talia and Josh appeared, and both of them looked pissed. "It looks like these two are ready to tear into each other," he said.

"I hope you're ready to suffer your majesty?" Talia asked tauntingly.

"No are you ready for the worst beat down you've every experienced?" Josh asked in return.

"Whatever enough chit chat," Talia laughed. "Let's begin!"

"DUEL!" the both roared.

"I'll be making the first move," Talia said drawing six cards.

"Fine by me it doesn't matter!" Josh snarled.

The waiting room

"Man they are both pissed," Rob said.

"Well no duh Rob," Reina scoffed. "Alexandria is in a coma thanks to Talia and Josh just gave her a pretty nasty verbal beating, and she seems to be losing her grip on sanity."

"I wonder can Josh can win," Vincent muttered.

"Heh that bitch won't beat Josh," Reina said.

"She is pretty tough," Zeke said. "She did come somewhat close to defeating me, plus she has that Wicked God and whatever the Hell else Archer might have given her."

"He'll win I know it," Reina said.

The dueling stage

**(Talia: 8000) - (Josh: 8000)**

"I'll start off by activating Pitch–Black Sun!" the Spell card materialized and a large black sphere appeared above Talia. "Now each time my monsters are destroyed I'll gain Life Points equal to the destroyed monster's original attack points."

"Like I care I'll just deplete your Life Points faster than you can restore them," Josh growled.

"I'll also activate Card of Safe Return and I take it you remember what it does?" Talia asked mockingly and Josh just hissed. "I'll end my turn by setting a monster face down."

"I summon Dodger Dragon!" a green Dragon with a long serpentine body appeared behind Josh, it also had extremely long legs. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 1200)

"Dodger Dragon destroy her face down monster with Spiral Flame!" the Dragon fired a tornado of green flames incinerating Talia's face down monster that appeared to be a large ape in red armor.

**(Talia: 8500) - (Josh: 8000)**

"Thanks you idiot that was Scarr, Scout of Dark World and thanks to his effect I get a level four or lower Dark World monster from my Deck added to my hand like Beiige," Talia said as the card popped out of her Deck.

"Fine I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Josh snarled.

"I'll activate Graceful Charity!" Talia drew three cards and then threw two into her Graveyard. The ground burst open and two familiar figures appeared. "Josh I take it you know Beiige," she laughed. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 1300) x2

"Ya I remember them but guess what they're too weak for them to make any difference," Josh scoffed.

"Except for the secondary power of my Pitch-Black Sun," Talia laughed as two beams of black light shot down hitting the Vanguards. (LV4/ATK 1600-2600/DEF 1300) "All monsters summoned from my Graveyard gain 1000 attack points and don't forget I still have Card of Safe Return active."

"Oh shit," Josh gasped upon seeing the boost in attack power Talia's monsters got.

"Beiige one attack his Dodger Dragon!" one of the Beiiges lunged forward impaling the thin Dragon causing it to howl in pain and shatter.

**(Talia: 8500) - (Josh: 7300)**

"Beiige number two sick him!" the second Vanguard rushed forward and struck Josh with the butt of his spear.

**(Talia: 8500) - (Josh: 4700)**

"You're not looking so good Josh," Talia cackled as Josh held his side.

"Go rot in Hell," Josh hissed.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Talia sneered.

"I'll set a monster and a card face down and end my turn," Josh said.

"Beiige one attack his face down monster!" one of the Fiends rushed forward and stabbed the face down monster revealing Masked Dragon.

"That was Masked Dragon so say hello to another one in defense mode," another Masked Dragon appeared and shielded itself with its wings. (LV3/ATK 1400/DEF 1100)

"Fine Beiige two attack!" the second Beiige speared the Dragon shattering it into pixels.

"Thanks because now I'm going to call out Totem Dragon in defense mode!" the small long necked Dragon flew on to the field and then curled up. (LV2/ATK 400/DEF 200)

"Ha like I'm afraid of that wimpy little puke," the Dark World duelist smirked. "I'll end my turn."

"I'm about to show you why you should fear one of my most useful troops!" Josh roared as Totem Dragon was engulfed in a pillar of flames. "I release my Totem Dragon which counts as two releases for a Dragon monster like my Tyrant Dragon!" the rust coloured Dragon lord flew out of the flames and roared. (LV8/ATK 2900/DEF 2500)

"Now I'll activate Call of the Haunted to bring back Masked Dragon!" the ground burst open and one of the Masked Dragons crawled out.

"So what I'll be healed for far more damage than you'll be doing this turn," Talia laughed.

"Not if I activate this go Burst Breath!" Masked Dragon roared as it was covered in fire. "All I have to do is release a monster and all monsters with lower defense than the attack points of the one I released like your monsters!" Masked Dragon flew forward lighting both Fiends on fire.

**(Talia: 11700) - (Josh: 4700)**

"Tyrant Dragon roast her with Tyrant's Flame!" Tyrant Dragon spewed a torrent of fire that engulfed Talia causing her to howl in pain.

**(Talia: 8800) - (Josh: 4700)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Josh said.

Talia stood up and snarled. "You'll pay for that!"

"Send me the bill," the Dragon duelist said with a smirk.

"I activate The Forces of Darkness and now I can return my two Beiiges to my hand," Talia said as the cards slid out of her Graveyard.

"Now I'll activate Magical Stone Excavation and all I have to do is discard two cards and I get back a Spell card from my Graveyard like my Graceful Charity!" the Spell card fell out of her Graveyard and she immediately threw it into her Duel Disk. "Now I'll activate so meet my two Beiiges again in attack mode!" the two Vanguards burst out of the ground and snarled at Josh. (LV4/ATK 1600-2600/DEF 1300)

"Let me guess you're going to activate United We Stand?" Josh asked.

"No I release both my Beiiges to call for The Supremacy Sun!" both Fiends burst into black flames. The glowing sphere above Talia pulsed and from it emerged a large figure in black armour with no legs. (LV10/ATK 3000/DEF 3000)

"A Legendary Planet," Josh gasped.

"It's also the most powerful one in the set so look upon the face of your destruction!" Talia laughed.

"Sun show this fool your power by eradicating his Dragon with your Solar Flare!" the Sun raised its hand and fired a blast of black light at Tyrant Dragon immolating it instantly.

**(Talia: 8800) - (Josh: 4600)**

"I'll end my turn," Talia laughed. "Why don't you give up now and spare yourself the pain!"

"I will never give up not until I crush you!" Josh roared.

"Then you'll die trying," the Dark World duelist sneered.

Josh drew and smirked or not. "I Special Summon Vice Dragon since you control a monster and don't," the grey Dragon flew onto the field and looked worriedly over at Josh. (LV5/ATK 2000-1000/DEF 2400-1200) "I'm alright, and of course because of that its attack and defense are halved but it doesn't matter."

"I'm not afraid of Red Dragon," Talia said.

"You should be because I'm summoning Delta Flyer!" the sharp winged Dragon Tuner flew onto the field and floated above Vice Dragon. (LV3/ATK 1500/DEF 900) "Now I'll tune my level, three Delta Flyer and my level, five Vice Dragon…,"

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" _

Delta Flyer took off with Vice Dragon right behind. The small Dragon became three Synchro Gates. They surrounded Vice Dragon turning it transparent. From the burst of light the demonic looking Dragon emerged. (LV8/ATK 3000/DEF 2000)

"So do you plant to suicide your ace monster?" Talia asked mockingly.

"No but before I do anything I'll activate Dragon Draw and since the only monster type I control is Dragon I get to draw twice," Josh said as her tore two cards off his Deck. "Now I'm going to activate Assault Mode Activate!" Josh's face down flipped open and Red Dragon Archfiend was engulfed in a pillar of light.

"So say hello to Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode!" the armored version of Red Dragon flew out of the pillar of light and roared causing the crow to cheer. (LV10/ATK 3500/DEF 2500)

"Why don't you show the Sun your Extreme Crimson Force!" Red Dragon created a ball of fire in its palm and flew at the Sun. It slammed its hand and the ball into the Sun's chest causing the Legendary Planet to explode.

**(Talia: 11300) - (Josh: 4600)**

"Thanks but I don't think I need anymore Life Points," Talia laughed. "You're and idiot, you can't beat me I have nearly three times as many Life Points as you do."

"So what I just toasted your second best monster," Josh countered.

"Now I'll end my turn by setting two cards face down," he said.

"Since it's my Standby Phase I'll activate the second effect of the Sun," Talia said dropping a card into her Graveyard. In a pillar of black light The Supremacy Sun appeared behind Talia. (LV10/ATK 3000-4000/DEF 3000)

Josh's eyes nearly bugged out of his head out the Sun reappearing. "I'm not done yet I activate Dark World Lightning to destroy your left face down card!" a bolt of lightning shot down annihilating the face down card.

Josh's Disk started to beep. "Oh ya that was my Dummy Marker and since one of your Spell cards hit it I get to draw twice."

"No matter I'll just discard a card as per the second part of Dark World Lightning and I think Goldd Wu-Lord of Dark World!" the ground burst open and Goldd burst out his axe in hand. (LV5/ATK 2300-3300/DEF 1400)

"The Sun get that Dragon out of my sight!" the Sun raised its hand and fired another blast of light incinerating the Assault Mode monster.

**(Talia: 11300) - (Josh: 4100)**

"I special Summon Red Dragon Archfiend in defense mode!" Red Dragon appeared and covered himself with his arms and wings.

"Goldd kill him!" Goldd charged forward and sliced Red Dragon in half.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Talia sneered. "Unless you enjoy pain you might want to give up."

Josh fell to his knees. _"Maybe she's right,"_ he thought and then everything seemed to go dark.

Unknown

Josh looked around. "Where am I?" he asked.

"A place where we can talk," a deep commanding voice said.

Josh felt himself being hauled to his feet. "Ugh let me go," he snarled.

He saw who had talked. It looked like his father or him it was really hard to tell. He was wearing black armour with red line and horns on the side of the helmet. "Are you really going to quit, if so I'm disgusted by you," the armoured man said.

"You're Red Dragon aren't you?" Josh asked.

"Yes and like I said you disgust me," Josh's ace monster spat.

"What can I do even if I destroy the Sun again it'll just come back," the Dragon duelist said.

"You could activate your other face down card," Red Dragon said.

"What…oh crap Dust Tornado!" Josh shouted. "I was so shocked I forgot about it!"

"Correct and so what if she has a monster with 4000 attack points you've got stronger monsters so use them!" the Dragon commanded.

"But I don't have what I need to summon any either of them," Josh said. "I failed Alexandria."

"Hmph your father didn't give up when it came to getting your mother back and I was more than happy to help him with that," Red Dragon said.

"I'm not a Signer I can't call on the Crimson Dragon for help!" Josh snarled.

"Maybe not but you can hope," Red Dragon said. "All it takes is one draw to turn it all around."

"But what if….?" Josh started to ask.

"No buts boy, now get back in the duel and kick that girl's ass!" Red Dragon roared.

Josh was about to say something. "You're right why am I doubting myself? I'm Joshua Atlas and an Atlas never gives up no matter what!" he roared.

"That's the spirit kid," Red Dragon said proudly.

The Duel

"That's it kneel before the superior duelist," Talia laughed as the timer ticked down.

"I'm not done yet!" Josh roared jumping to his feel. "I won't give up until I crush you for what you did to Alexandria!"

"Then you won't be winning I've got a monster that's stronger than anything you could hope to summon!" Talia shouted. "Plus you have no monsters or cards in your hand you'll need a miracle to win."

"Then I'll just hope for a miracle in fact I'll play it!" the Dragon duelist shouted throwing a card into his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Hope for a Miracle!"

"I've never heard of it," Talia said sounding bored.

"It's pretty rare and risky I have to call a card type as in Spell, Trap or Monster then I draw and if get it right I draw until I'm holding six cards if I fail then I skip my next Draw Phase," Josh explained.

"Ha you'll never do it even Joey Wheeler would think that's too risky!" Talia laughed.

"I don't really care I doomed either way and I call Spell!" Josh cried tearing the top card off his Deck. He spun it around and grinned. "Well, well a Spell card, Dragon's Mirror to be precise so a whole new hand for me!"

"So what I just toasted your strongest monster and it happens to be a Nomi monster!" Talia screamed.

"My Assault Mode monster wasn't my no in terms of pure power you're about to see my strongest because I activate Dragon's Mirror!" Josh roared as a huge mirror appeared behind him. "I'll remove my Masked Dragon, Dodger Dragon, Tyrant Dragon, Vice Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode to call out the Five-Headed Dragon!"

The mirror shattered and from it emerged a huge Dragon with yellow scales with five heads. One was made of fire, one was blue, one was jet black, one was metallic grey and the final one was tan. (LV12/ATK 5000/DEF 5000)

"No way it's so powerful and…," Talia gasped.

"And it can only be destroyed in battle by creatures of light and I'm guessing you have none," Josh sneered. "Well I'll show you true power by attacking the Sun with Quad Elemental Death Burst oh yes and I'll activate Dust Tornado to destroy your Pitch-Black Sun!" the five heads roared in unison and then breathed a beam of earth, water, wind, darkness and fire. The combined assault struck the Sun just as the Spell card was destroyed.

**(Talia: 10300) - (Josh: 4100)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Josh said. "Now maybe you should give up."

"Not until I crush the Black Rose Bitch!" Talia snarled. "And I'll crush everyone in my way to duel her!"

"That's not happening," Josh muttered.

"I'll move Goldd into defense mode then set a monster and a card face down and that's all I can do," she hissed.

"Like I said you should give up because I'm activating Dragon's Rage!" the Trap card flipped open revealing a picture of a Dragon Dwelling in the Cave smashing some rocks. "Now all Dragon types will inflict piercing damage!"

"Too bad none of your Dragon's will be attacking!" Talia laughed as her newest face down flipped open. "Reverse card open Dragon Capture Jar!" Josh looked horrified as a large urn with a design like a Dragon's face on the front appeared on the field.

"Shit!" Josh cursed as Five-Headed Dragon shielded itself with its wings.

"I take it you know this card?" Talia asked sarcastically. "Well since not everyone will know what it does, I'll explain as it forces all Dragons to defense like huge and ugly over there."

"I'll end my turn with a face down monster," Josh hissed.

"Alright I'll reveal my face down monster Zure, Knight of Dark World!" the face down monster appeared to be an ugly Fiend wearing armor on his arms and legs as well as a blue cape. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1500)

"Now I'll activate Shield Crush and annihilate your Dragon!" a beam of energy shot out of the Spell atomizing the Five-Headed Dragon.

"Zure, Goldd end this!" both Fiends raised their weapons and charged at Josh.

"I won't lose that easily!" he roared. "Go Dark Wall of Wind so no direct attacks this turn!" a swirling blast of wind surrounded the blond boy sending the Fiends flying back.

"Fine I'll end my turn it doesn't matter you can't attack me as long as my Trap card stands," Talia cackled. "You're finished Josh just surrender oh yes I end my turn."

"When Hell freezes over I will!" Josh growled. "I'll just set a monster face down along with two cards in the back row and that's all."

"I activate Card Destruction!" Talia laughed and both duelists discard their hands and drew new hands. "And one of the cards I ditched was called Grapha, Dragon God of Dark World and because he was discarded I can destroy one of your cards like that defense monster!" a large evil looking dragon appeared and breathed a stream of flames incinerating Josh's face down Golem Dragon.

"Now I'll return my Zure to my hand to Special Summon him from the Graveyard!" in a burst of black flames Grapha appeared and roared into the air. (LV8/ATK 2700/DEF 1800)

"The fact that, that hideous excuse for a monster has Dragon in its name makes me want to vomit," Josh said.

"Be quiet and die Goldd get him Gold Rush!" Goldd roared and charged at Josh is axe raised.

"Reveal face down card Draining Shield!" Josh cried as the dome shaped barrier appeared around him. "So your attack is negated and I gain 3300 Life Points thanks."

**(Talia: 10300) - (Josh: 7400)**

"Grapha attack him directly!" Talia screamed. The Dragon God roared and spewed a torrent of black flames that struck Josh causing him to cry out.

**(Talia: 10300) - (Josh: 4700)**

"Is that all you've got because if so I'm going to annihilate you," Josh sneered.

"Silence you fool I'll be the one annihilating you!" Talia shrieked. "Also I'll end my turn."

"I'm about to turn this around!" Josh announced. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot and I'll chain my face down Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Dragon Capture Jar and draw until I have five cards!" Josh's face down card flipped open and a vortex flew across the field tearing the jar to pieces and the grinning jar appeared.

"Now I'll summon Knight of Red!" in a burst of flames a knight in jet black armour modelled after a famous Dragon appeared. (LV4ATK 1800/DEF 1500) "As long he remains face up on the field his name is treated as Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

"So what it doesn't matter he's weak!" Talia laughed sounding scared.

"It doesn't matter because I activate the Ritual Spell Red-Eyes Transmigration!" a sinister looking altar appeared. "Unlike most Ritual Spells this doesn't require any specific level no it requires a Red-Eyes Black Dragon and a Warrior type monster like my Knight of Red and my Wielder of the Dragon Flame Sword that's in my hand!" the knight jumped onto the altar along with a creature with orange skin wielding two swords covered in fire.

"Now I call forth Lord of Red!" Josh roared jumping onto the field and then being engulfed in fire. The flames vanished and Josh was now wearing a suit of armour that looked like the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. (LV7/ATK 2400/DEF 2000) "I have become the Lord of the Red!" he said before throwing back his head and roaring.

"You're still too weak you idiot!" the Dark World duelist laughed.

"I know so I'm activating Pot of Greed!" the grinning jar appeared again now looking very angry. "Then I'll follow that with Emergency Provisions to get rid of my Call of the Haunted and regain 1000 Life Points!"

**(Talia: 10300) - (Josh: 5700)**

"So you increased your Life Points so….," Talia began before trailing off when she noticed that the armour was now glowing red.

"Since two Spell cards in separate chains have been activated I can destroy all other monsters like your two ugly freaks!" Josh laughed raising his hands into the air. He dropped them and roared causing two bursts of fire to swallow the Dark World monsters burning them to ashes.

"Now comes my favourite part then one where I kick your ass personally!" Josh said before rushing forward. Talia screamed and covered her face only to be punched in the stomach.

**(Talia: 7900) - (Josh: 5700)**

"You….can't hit girl," Talia hissed.

"Normally I agree with you on that but in all honestly you deserved that especially for hurting Alexandria, hurt my queen or my friends and you'll suffer!" Josh snarled. "I'll end my turn with a face down card.

"I summon Prometheus, King of the Shadow!" Talia's shadow grew and from it appeared a cloaked figure whose face was hidden from sight. (LV4/ATK 1200/DEF 800)

"Wait that thing is a Dark Fiend?" Josh asked. "Wouldn't a Warrior or a Pyro Fire monster make more sense?"

"I don't really care because I'm activating his effect which allows me to remove any number of Dark monsters from my Graveyard to increase his attack points by 400 per!" Talia laughed. "So I'll remove my two Beiiges, the Sun, Goldd, Grapha, Scarr, as well as the Brron and Renge I discarded with Card Destruction!" dark flames began to burn around Prometheus. (LV4ATK 1200-4400/DEF 800)

"Now attack him Prometheus Shadow Fire!" Prometheus raised his hands and launched a jet of black fire at Josh. He screamed as the armour shattered.

**(Talia: 7900) - (Josh: 3700)**

"You look awful Josh maybe you should….," Talia began to say.

"Oh shut the Hell up!" Josh snapped. "I will not quit as long as I can keep fighting as long as I can draw and as long as I have Life Points I will win!"

"Fine suit yourself," Talia said with a shrug. "I'll end my turn with a face down card. (LV4/ATK 4400-1200/DEF 800)

"I summon a third Masked Dragon!" in a burst of fire the small red Dragon appeared. "Destroy her monster with Masked Flames!" the Dragon spat a ball of fire that incinerated the oddly named Fiend.

**(Talia: 7700) - (Josh: 3700)**

"I barely felt that," Talia laughed and since your hand is empty I'll be making my next move!"

"Go ahead but it doesn't matter what move you make," Josh scoffed. "I won't let myself lose to someone with such a rotten soul!"

"Keep talking in case you'd forgotten I have Zure!" the Knight of Dark World appeared and sneered at Josh. "Zure destroy his pathetic Masked Dragon!"

Zure rushed forward his sword held high. "Heh, not happening reveal face down card Prideful Roar!" Masked Dragon roared halting Zure's attack. "This card is similar to Bark of Dark Ruler, I have to pay Life Points equal to the difference in our monsters attack points then my Masked Dragon gain that many attack points plus 300!" (LV3/ATK 1400-2100/DEF 1100)

**(Talia: 7700) - (Josh: 3300)**

Masked Dragon spat another fireball immolating Zure instantly. "Damn you," Talia hissed. "Fine I'll set a card face down and end my turn." (LV3/ATK 2100-1400/DEF 1100)

"I'll activate Monster Reborn!" Josh said. The ankh appeared and from it Delta Flyer.

"Fool you should've brought back your Red Dragon!" Talia laughed.

"I have plans that involve keeping him in the Graveyard," Josh said. "Delta Flyer, Masked Dragon attack her directly!" the two Dragons attacked unleashing a burst of flame and wind.

**(Talia: 4800) - (Josh: 3300)**

"Now I'll tune my level three, Delta Flyer and my level three, Masked Dragon….!" Josh began.

"_This mighty beast paves the way for the former kings of the sky! A herald to a time when Dragons ruled the land and air! Synchro Summon, descent Orient Dragon!"_

Delta Flyer took off and became three greens rings. Masked Dragon flew through them becoming a transparent. From the light appeared a large orange Dragon with a face that looked like an ornate mask and large feathered wings. (LV6/ATK 2300/DEF 1800)

"I'll activate Into the Void!" Talia announced. "Since I have three or more cards I get to draw a card but during the End Phase I'll have to discard every card in my hand."

"I'm guessing that isn't a cost," Josh said.

"Nope so I'll set a card face down and end my turn causing me to lose the other cards in my hand," Talia laughed as she dropped the other cards into her Graveyard.

An ugly monster with a large head wearing a green cloak and glasses appeared. "That would be Gren, Tactician of Dark World and since he was just discarded from the hand I can destroy one of your Spell or Trap cards like Dragon's Rage!" Gren pointed and the Trap card shattered.

Just as Gren vanished the familiar form of Sillva, Warlord of Dark World appeared (LV5/ATK 2300/DEF 1400). "You remember Sillva right?" Talia asked. "Well since he too was discarded I get to Special Summon him!"

"I really don't care," Josh hissed. "Orient Dragon torch her face down monster!" the orange Dragon roared and breathed a stream of flames incinerating the face down monster.

"That was my Morphing Jar so now we both discard their hands and then threw until we're holding five cards!" Josh discarded his one card and Talia discarded none.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Josh said.

"Fool!" Talia laughed. "I activate Xing Zhen Hu so both your face down cards are stuck!" two blocks of wood crashed down on Josh's face down cards and then were tied on with ropes.

"Damn it," the Dragon duelist growled.

"I activate Dimension Fusion so I just give up 2000 Life Points to Special Summon as many removed from play monsters as possible!" a portal opened above Talia and the two Beiiges, Grapha and Goldd appeared on the field in attack mode.

**(Talia: 2800) - (Josh: 3300)**

"Now I release Goldd and my two Beiiges to call out my Wicked Eraser!" the three monsters were engulfed in green fire. From the flames appeared The Wicked Eraser. (LV10/ATK 0-7000/DEF 0-7000) "Wait 7000 that's not right it should be much lower."

"Actually it is an if you'd been paying attention and listened you'd have heard me tell you that I get to Special Summoned removed from play monsters too, like my Tyrant Dragon, Dodger Dragon, Vice Dragon and Masked Dragon all in defense mode," the four named monsters appeared using their wings to shield themselves.

"Oh well no matter that just means it'll be over right now Eraser attack his Orient Dragon with Digestive Blaze!" the Wicked God roared and spewed a wave of green fire towards the larger mask faced Dragon.

Suddenly Dodger Dragon shoved the Synchro monster out of the way and was incinerated instead. "What in the Hell just happened!" Talia shrieked!"

Josh held up a Trap card that had just fallen out of his Graveyard. "My Dragon's Defense happened and since it was in my Graveyard I could remove it from play to activate its effect, which allows me to redirect an attack directed towards a Dragon monster to another face up Dragon monster I control." (LV10/ATK 7000-6000/DEF 7000-6000)

"Fine Grapha you kill Orient Dragon and Sillva you kill his Vice Dragon!" the two Dark World monsters attacked the Dragons killing them. (LV10/ATK 6000-4000/DEF 6000-4000)

**(Talia: 2800) - (Josh: 2900)**

"First I'll move Tyrant Dragon to attack mode then I'll have him incinerate Grapha and Sillva go Tyrant's Blaze!" the orange scaled Dragon roared and fired a stream of fire that incinerated the God Dragon then Sillva.

**(Talia: 2000) - (Josh: 2900)**

"Now I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh said. (LV10/ATK 4000-5000/DEF 4000-5000)

"I'll activate Berserker Assault so I can now attack everything so Eraser kill both is monsters!" the Wicked God roared and spewed another wave of flames that immolated Tyrant Dragon and Masked Dragon.

"Reverse card open!" Josh cried. "Defense Draw so the damage from your attack on Tyrant Dragon is reduced to zero!" the flames passed by Josh harmlessly. (LV10/ATK 5000-3000/DEF 5000-3000)

"Damn you!" Talia screamed. "Why don't you just die already I have my Wicked God you can't win!"

"I take it you end your turn and I summon Dread Dragon to the field thanks to Masked Dragon!" from a small ball of flames appeared a small brown scaled Dragon with dreadlocks. (LV2/ATK 1100/DEF 400)

"Yes I'll end my turn but there is nothing you can possibly do to stop the Eraser you're going to die here!" Talia snarled.

"Oh yes I can because last time I checked I have the power of a god on my side as well," Josh said.

"Ha, you're no Signer and the Crimson Dragon can't help you!" Talia laughed.

"I summon Dragunity Aklys!" a small Dragon with a serpentine body and wings sticking out of the sides of its head flew onto the field. (LV2/ATK 1000/DEF 800)

"Now I'll activate Premature Burial to bring back Red Dragon Archfiend!" the ground exploded and Red Dragon burst out and roared at Talia. (LV10/ATK 3000-6000/DEF 3000-6000)

**(Talia: 2000) - (Josh: 2100)**

"Now I'll activate Scarlet Security!" Red Dragon smashed the ground with his claw and the resulting shockwaves caused Talia's Spell and Trap cards to shatter. "Since I control Red Dragon Archfiend all your Spell and Traps are destroyed."

"It doesn't matter!" Talia laughed nervously. "The Eraser is too powerful and you'll lose everything if you do destroy it!"

"I'm going to destroy it but first I'm double tuning my level two, Dragunity Aklys, and Dread Dragon with my level eight, Red Dragon Archfiend…..!" he began.

"_A beast with the power of the King and the Devil will appear to wreak havoc on the battlefield! This raging spirit rules over creation itself! Synchro Summon, come forth Red Nova Dragon!"_

The three Dragon flew high above the stadium and the Tuners each became two rings that burst into flames. They surrounded Red Dragon forming a sphere of fire. The sphere exploded and from it emerged Red Dragon.

It now had bony red armour covering its body and another set of wings also covered in the armour. It looked at Talia and roared. (LV12/ATK 3500/DEF 3000) (LV10/ATK 6000-4000/DEF 6000-4000)

"And thanks to its effect it gains 500 attack points for each Tuner monster in my Graveyard!" (LV12/ATK 3500-5000/DEF 3000)

"And I'm still not done because I'm activating one of my face down cards Forbidden Chalice and I'm using it on your Wicked God!"

"No you can't!" Talia screamed as a blue aura surrounded the Wicked God weakening it tremendously. (LV10/ATK 4000-400/DEF 4000-0)

"Red Nova Dragon end this with BURING SOUL!" Red Nova Dragon flew into the air and looped around it burst into flames and flew by The Wicked Eraser slicing it into pieces.

**(Talia: 0) - (Josh: 2100)**

Talia fell to her knees. "I lost but how I had the Eraser?"

"You lost because I'm better than you'll ever be, come back in a hundred years and I'll crush you again," Josh said as he walked off stage.

"_Too bad it looks like you failed Talia,"_ a voice in Talia's head said.

"Master Archer," she whispered fearfully. "Please forgive me I can do better I can WIN!"

"_No Talia you failed and I won't accept two failures goodbye enjoy Hell!"_ Archer laughed.

"NO please no!" Talia shrieked as everything started to go dark. "I SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

Several minutes later

Talia had been carried away by the paramedics and the M.C. now stood on the stage. Above him were holographic pictures of Reina and Josh. "Everybody Listen!" he shouted. "Tomorrow Reina Fudo and Joshua Atlas will face off to determine who will get the chance to duel Leon Archer!"

Archer's box

"Too bad she got beaten but don't you think you were a little harsh on her?" Miranda asked.

"No she failed and paid the price. But in the end she helped out in some way," Archer said holding up The Wicked Avatar which now had the card art a black sphere.

"I wonder which one of those kids will have to face it?" Miranda wondered aloud.

"It doesn't matter in the end the world is mine now," Archer laughed.

**Zeke: The time has come!**

**Rob: The duel everyone is waiting for!**

**Vincent: The stage is set the duelists are ready!**

**Josh: Don't miss the Final Showdown!**

**Reina: If you do you'll be sorry!**

**Original Cards**

Pitch-Black Sun

Image: A solar eclipse above a desert with three pyramids.

| Continuous Spell | Each time a monster you control is destroyed, gain Life Points equal to its original ATK. When a monster is Summoned from your Graveyard, it gains 1000 ATK.

(This card was first used by Tragoedia in chapter 63 of the Yu-gi-oh! GX manga all creative credit does to the manga writers of that chapter.)

Hope for a Miracle

Image: A badly injured soldier praying under a starry sky.

| Spell | Call, Monster, Spell or Trap card and then draw the top card on your Deck. If you call it correctly then draw until you're holding six cards if you call it incorrectly then send the drawn card to the Graveyard and you must skip your next Draw Phase.

Knight of Red

Dark | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1800/1500 | As long as this card remains face up on the field this card's name is treated as 'Red-Eyes B. Dragon'.

Red-Eyes Transmigration

Image: A black skinned red eyed figure with their head and arms covered in fire.

| Ritual Spell | This card is used to Ritual Summon "Lord of the Red". You must also Tribute 1 "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" and 1 Warrior-Type monster from the field or your hand.

Lord of the Red

Dark | Level 7 | Warrior/Ritual/Effect | 2400/2000 | This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Spell Card, "Red-Eyes Transmigration". If 2 Spell Cards are activated (in separate Chains) during the same turn, you can destroy all other monsters on the field after the 2nd Spell Card's effect resolves.

(The above two cards were first used by Joey Wheeler/Katsuya Jonouchi in episode 171 of the original Yu-gi-oh! All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Dragon's Defense

Image: Exploder Dragonwing being hit by a blast of energy that would've hit Red Dragon Archfiend.

| Trap | When a face Dragon type monster you control is selected as an attack target you may redirect the attack to another face up Dragon monster you control. If this card is in your Graveyard you may remove it from play to activate its effect.


	37. Ch37: Final Showdown

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Final Showdown

"EVERYBODY LISTEN!" the M.C. roared. "Welcome to the final duel of the Battle for the Crown tournament!"

"For those of you just tuning in this duel will decide who will face the current Duel King Leon Archer!"

"Our first duelist who defeated Xander Norico in the first round along with his powerful and debilitating Wicked God, then in the second round she defeated Zeke Kessler and his Archfiends who attempted to cut off her Synchro Summons…..Reina Fudo!"

Reina flew out of the pits and took her place at the starting line.

"Our second duelist who defeated the son of a former Pro Duelist and third generation Dragon Rider Deck user Vincent Merchet Junior and in the second round in a duel that looked all but lost to him he beat Talia Yakushi and her dangerous Dark World forces as well as her Legendary Planet and her own Wicked God…..Joshua Atlas!"

Josh burst out of the pits in an explosion of smoke. He raised his hand into the air and grinned. "I swear I will defeat Reina and Leon and be crowned King!" he shouted.

He quickly pulled up beside Reina and sneered. "You are such a ham," she said rolling her eyes.

"I just give the crowd what they want," he smirked.

"On your mark get set…duel!" the M.C. shouted and both teens rocketed forward.

"I'll be making the first move!" Reina declared ramming into Josh causing him to spin out.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 0) - (Josh: 8000 – SPC: 0)**

"I'm going to start this duel off slow by setting a monster in defense mode and a card face down," Reina said as a defense monster and face down card appeared and the second vanished.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Josh: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

"I'll summon Lancer Lindwurm!" from the portal appeared the armoured lance wielding Dragon. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"Attack her monster!" the Dragon flew at Reina's monster and stabbed it with its lance. It struck a mechanical looking monster that appeared to be floating head with arms sticking out of the side. (LV3/ATK 500/DEF 1800)

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh said.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 2) - (Josh: 8000 – SPC: 2)**

"I'll summon Drill Synchron!" a spherical Machine with treads and two small arms with drill attached jumped out of the portal. (LV3/ATK 800/DEF 300)

"Now I'll tune my level three, Drill Synchron and my level three, Junk Defender…!" Reina began.

"_These clustering powers will become the spear that will pierce heaven and earth! Become the path light in born upon! Synchro Summon break it apart, Drill Warrior!"_

Drill Synchron became three rings that surrounded Junk Defender turning it transparent. From the burst of light emerged a robotic looking Warrior in red armor with a yellow scarf around its neck and a drill in place of a right hand. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 2000)

"Attack his Lindwurm with Drill Lancer!" Drill Warrior's weapon began to spin and it rushed forward impaling the Dragon.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 2) - (Josh: 7400 – SPC: 2)**

"I'll end my turn," Reina said.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 3) - (Josh: 7400 – SPC: 3)**

"I'll set a monster face down and end my turn," Josh said.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 4) - (Josh: 7400 – SPC: 4)**

"I'll summon Junk Blader!" the Warrior wearing the tattered cape and wielding a sword jumped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1000)

"Drill Warrior destroy this face down monster!" Drill Warrior flew forward and impaled Masked Dragon.

"Thanks Reina because you killed my Masked Dragon I now I get to Special Summon a Dragon weak from my Deck!" in a burst of flames another Masked Dragon appeared shielding itself with its wings. (LV3/ATK 1400/DEF 1100)

"Fine Junk Blader attack his Masked Dragon!" the weaker Warrior slashed Masked Dragon shattering it into pixels.

"I'll just call out my last Masked Dragon!" another Masked Dragon appeared also shielding itself.

"Alright I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina muttered.

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 5) - (Josh: 7400 – SPC: 5)**

"It's about time for me to turn this duel around in a big way!" Josh announced. "I'll summon Delta Flyer!" the blade winged Dragon flew onto the field and screeched. (LV3/ATK 1500/DEF 900)

"I tune my level three, Delta Flyer with my level three, Masked Dragon….!" Josh began.

"_This mighty beast paves the way for the former kings of the sky! A herald to a time when Dragons ruled the land and air! Synchro Summon, descend Orient Dragon!"_

Delta Flyer climbed high and then became three Synchro Gates. They surrounded Masked Dragon causing it to become see through. The masked faced orange scaled Dragon flew above both duelists and roared. (LV6/ATK 2300/DEF 1800)

"It can't beat my Drill Warrior unless you plan to power it up it won't be winning this fight," Reina said.

"It doesn't have to fight Drill Warrior because since I just Synchro Summoned him your monster is removed from play, go Banishing Roar!" Orient Dragon roared causing a hole in reality to open behind Drill Warrior. He tried to resist only to be thrown in.

"Attack her directly!" the Synchro monster threw its head back and then spewed a stream of fire at Reina.

"Reveal face down card!" she cried. "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" the junk scarecrow appeared and deflected the flames.

"Damn it," Josh hissed. "Fine I'll end my turn."

**(Reina: 8000 – SPC: 6) - (Josh: 7400 – SPC: 6)**

"I'll set a monster face down and end my turn," Reina said.

"Heh, reveal face down card Dragon's Rage!" Josh shouted. "Now defense won't work against my Dragons!"

"Shit," Reina swore.

"Now I'll summon Mirage Dragon and thanks to this helpful monster you can't activate Trap cards during the Battle Phase!" he laughed as a yellow Dragon with a serpentine body appeared on the field. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 600)

"Orient Dragon attack her face down monster!" the masked faced Dragon roared and breathed another stream of flames hitting a familiar stone Warrior. (LV2/ATK 600/DEF 1200)

**(Reina: 6900 – SPC: 5) - (Josh: 7400 – SPC: 6)**

"Well its Fortress Warrior I was hoping it was Shield Wing," Josh mused. "Oh well Mirage Dragon blast it!" the new Dragon fired a beam of light from its maw blowing Fortress Warrior to pebbles.

**(Reina: 6500 – SPC: 5) - (Josh: 7400 – SPC: 6)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh said.

**(Reina: 6500 – SPC: 6) - (Josh: 7400 – SPC: 7)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton so now I just draw two cards and discard one," she pulled two cards off the top of her Deck and dropped one into her Graveyard. "Now I'll summon Junk Synchron!" the small mechanical looking Warrior monster jumped onto the field. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 500) 

"Now since he was Normal Summoned I can activate his effect and Special Summon a level two or lower monster from my Graveyard but its effect is negated so Fortress Warrior, be reborn!" Junk Synchron gestured and Fortress Warrior jumped out of another portal. "Since I control a face Tuner I can Special Summon Quillbolt Hedgehog from my Graveyard!" the Machine rodent burst out of the ground and joined Reina's other two monsters. (LV2/ATK 800/DEF 800)

"And I'm still not done yet and since I Normal Summoned already I can Special Summon Turbo Booster!" the legless yellow Machine appeared on the field. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0) "Now I'll tune my level three, Junk Synchron, my level two Quillbolt Hedgehog and Fortress Warrior and my level one, Turbo Booster….!" Reina began.

"_The fury of these clustering souls will awaken the raging go! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon, obliterate it all Junk Destroyer!"_

Junk Synchron pulled his ripcord and then rocketed forward before becoming three Synchro Gates. They surrounded the other three monsters. They became wireframe and were enveloped in a flash of light. With a roar a large robotic looking monster crashed onto the field. Its body was covered in mostly black armor it had four arms and four large blades sticking out of its back like wings. (LV8/ATK 2600/DEF 2500)

"Now its effect activates and since I used three non-Tuners to Synchro Summon it three of your cards are about to bite the dust!" Reina announced. "I choose Orient Dragon, Mirage Dragon and Dragon's Rage, go Tidal Energy!" the jewel on Junk Destroyer's chest started to glow and then a wave of water washed over the field sweeping away the named cards.

"Now attack him directly with Destroy Knuckle!" Junk Destroyer's fists started to glow and it fired four bolts of energy that crashed into Josh.

**(Reina: 6500 – SPC: 6) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 5)**

"Better speed up Josh or I'll leave you in the dust!" Reina laughed. "I'll end my turn."

**(Reina: 6500 – SPC: 7) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 6)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Trap Launcher and since I have four or more Speed Counters I can activate a Trap from my hand like Dust Tornado to destroy your Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" the debris filled whirlwind flew across the field tearing apart the Trap card.

"Now since you control a monster and I control none I can Special Summon Vice Dragon with its stats halved!" the grey Dragon flew onto the field and snarled at Reina. (LV5/ATK 2000-1000/DEF 2400-1200)

"Let me guess Josh now you're going to summon Delta Flyer and then Red Dragon please," Reina said.

"Wrong I summon the Pup of Red Dragon!" in a burst of fire a smaller version of Red Dragon Archfiend flew onto the field. (LV3/ATK 1500/DEF 1000) "Now I'll tune my level three, Pup of Red Dragon with my level five, Vice Dragon…!"

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!"_

The young Dragon flew into the air and became three green rings. Vice Dragon flew through becoming nothing more than orange framework. From the light emerged Josh's ace monster. (LV8/ATK 3000/DEF 2000)

"Destroy her monster with Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon roared and charged at Junk Destroyer its hand coated in flames. "And thanks to the effect of Pup he isn't effected by your Trap cards until the End Phase!" Red Dragon's claw slammed into Junk Destroyer causing it to burst into flames.

**(Reina: 6100 – SPC: 7) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 6)**

"I'll end my turn," Josh smirked.

**(Reina: 6100 – SPC: 8) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 7)**

"I activate Descending Lost Star to revive my Junk Destroyer in defense mode with no defense, its level lowered by one and its effect negated," Junk Destroyer burst out of the ground and shielded itself with its arms. (LV8-7/ATK 2600/DEF 2500-0)

"Now I'll summon Turbo Synchron!" the small race car Synchro flew onto the field. (LV 1/ATK 100/DEF 500)

"Now I'll tune my level one, Turbo Synchron and my now level seven Junk Destroyer….!"

"_Clustering hopes will combine to create a shining new star! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Reverberate. Stardust Dragon!"_

Turbo Synchron lowered the visor on its helmet over its eyes and flew forward becoming a single ring. Junk Destroyer roared and leapt through the rings becoming see-through. From the light Stardust Dragon appeared. The two Signer Dragons looked at each other and seemed to smile before roaring. (LV8/ATK 2500/DEF 2000)

"This time everyone will see when Stardust Dragon defeats Red Dragon Archfiend!" Reina declared.

"Maybe when Hell freezes over Red Dragon won't fall to such a weak Dragon!" Josh announced.

"Both duelists have made bold declarations but whose will come true?" the M.C. roared.

"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Reina said.

**(Reina: 6100 – SPC: 9) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 8)**

"I'll summon Dragonic Guardian!" a large statue that looked like a Dragon holding a shield appeared. (LV4/ATK 800/DEF 1900) "Now I'll release it to activate it's effect which means none of my Dragons can be destroyed by card effect's this turn so Red Dragon destroy Stardust Dragon with your Absolute Power Force!" the statue dissolved into motes of light that surrounded Red Dragon who roared and flew forward again.

"Good thing I don't plan to destroy it I activate Power Frame!" the Trap activated and a metal box appeared and blocked Red Dragon's attack before phasing into Stardust Dragon. "So your attack is negated and Stardust Dragon gains attack points equal to the difference in our monsters attack points. (LV8/ATK 2500-3000/DEF 2000)

"Fine I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Josh said.

**(Reina: 6100 – SPC: 10) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 9)**

"I'm going to activate my other face down card Burning Fighting Spirit!" the Trap card exploded into flames that surrounded Stardust Dragon. "Now if Stardust battles a monster with more attack points than its original attack points its original attack points are doubled so attack with Cosmic Flare!" Stardust Dragon roared and fired a larger red Cosmic Flare. (LV8/ATK 3000-5500/DEF 2000)

Red Dragon roared and attacked with his Absolute Power Force. The two attacks clashed but instead of being destroyed Red Dragon was just pushed back. He roared again and flew at Stardust Dragon. The two monsters locked claws and both breathed a blast of energy causing a large explosion to swallow them both. Moments later Stardust flew out of the flames and roared into the air. (LV8/ATK 5500-3000/DEF 2000)

"Care to explain why your Life Points didn't just take a nose dive?" Reina asked.

"Simple I activated Defense Draw so I take no damage and I draw a card, the noise from that little spectacle drowned out me saying it and I reveal my other face down card Shooting Star Shower and since a Synchro monster was destroyed you take damage equal to the level of the destroyed monster times 200!" eight glowing orbs appeared and slammed into Reina.

**(Reina: 4500 – SPC: 9) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 9)**

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina said.

**(Reina: 4500 – SPC: 10) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 10)**

"All I can do is set a monster in defense mode," Josh said.

**(Reina: 4500 – SPC: 11) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 11)**

"We've almost hit max Speed Counters and both our Life Points haven't even dropped below half," Reina with a chuckle.

"Very true let's give these people what they came to see and then some," Josh shouted causing the crowd to roar.

"Gladly Stardust Dragon attack his face down monster!" Stardust Dragon roared and breathed its breath weapon.

"Bad move Reina you destroyed by Exploder Dragon and it'll be taking out Stardust Dragon!" a small blue Dragon hold what looked like an orange egg flew above Reina's monster and dropped the explosive before shattering.

"Not happening, Stardust negate with Victim Sanctuary!" Stardust Dragon dissolved into motes of silver light that slammed into the bomb causing it to disintegrate.

"Now I'll set a monster face down and I'll end my turn so Stardust returns!" in a burst of light and wind Stardust Dragon flew onto the field.

"Reveal face down card Reverse Mist and since you just Special Summoned a monster Stardust is mine!" a large shadowy figure appeared and raised a hand. Several red strings attached themselves to the silver Dragon pulling it over to Josh's side.

"Damn it," Reina hissed.

**(Reina: 4500 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 12)**

"No hard feeling Reina but I'll be making better use of Stardust Dragon," Josh said. "And so he won't be alone I'm calling out Spear Dragon!" the dark blue long nosed Dragon flew onto the field and screamed. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 0)

"Spear Dragon destroy her face down monster with Cyclone Blast!" the smaller Dragon opened its mouth and blasted the face down monster with a whirling blast of wind.

The cyclone struck a monster with green skin and thin arms. (LV2/ATK 0/DEF 900)

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 11) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 12)**

"I'll just set a card and end my turn because there's no point attacking that thing with Stardust," Josh said as Spear Dragon covered itself with its wings.

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 4800 – SPC: 12)**

Reina drew and grinned. "Sorry Stardust but I have to destroy you," Reina said quietly. "I activate Give and Take, and here's how it works you get a monster of mine in defense mode like say Junk Synchron," the small robotic Warrior appeared next to Spear Dragon shielding itself with its arms. "Then one of my monsters has its level grow by the same as Junk Synchron's!" Shield Wing started to glow. (LV2-5/ATK 0/DEF 900)

"Now I'll summon Nitro Synchron!" the living gas canister appeared and floated next to the Winged-Beast. (LV2/ATK 300/DEF 100) "Now I'll tune my level two, Nitro Synchron and my now level five, Shield Wing….!"

"_These clustering minds will awaken a force that strikes down evil! Become the path light in born upon! Synchro Summon! Blaze on, Nitro Warrior!"_

The gauge on Nitro Synchron's head increased until it was in the red. The Machine monster flew forward and became two rings. They surrounded Shield Wing who was reduced to framework. In burst of flames the green skinned demon like Warrior crashed onto the field. (LV7/ATK 2800/DEF 1800)

"Oh crap," Josh muttered.

"Nitro Warrior attack Stardust Dragon with Dynamite Knuckle!" Nitro Warrior looked confused for a second then he flew forward and punched its comrade in the chest.

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 4500 – SPC: 12)**

"Alright so you destroyed Stardust you just gave me Tuner!" Josh sneered. "Oh wait…shit that thing's effect!"

"Correct Nitro Warrior activate your Dynamite Impact and force Junk Synchron to attack mode!" the Warrior looked even more confused but punched the ground causing Junk Synchron to stop defending. Nitro Warrior flew forward and crushed the Tuner with a powerful punch.

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 3000 – SPC: 11)**

"Alright I'll end my turn," Reina said.

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 3000 – SPC: 12)**

"I'll set card face down and end my turn," Josh said.

"I'll activate Speed Spell – Synchro Greed!" Reina shouted. "I'll remove Drill Warrior to draw three cards!"

"I summon Gogogo Golem!" from the ground burst a large monster with extremely large arms and no feet. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1500)

"You have got to be kidding me," Josh laughed. "Who is naming these cards?"

"No clue but this guy works with my Deck nicely oh and Golem attack his Spear Dragon!" the Rock monster punched the Dragon in the face causing it to scream and shatter. "And now it's all about to end Josh!"

"What are you blathering about?" Josh asked before his eyes widened in horror. "Crap you activated a Spell!"

"Right and that means when Nitro Warrior attacks it'll gain 1000 attack points and end this duel so go for it Nitro Warrior!" (LV7/ATK 2800-3800/DEF 1800) Nitro Warrior flew forward its fists glowing green.

"No I can't lose now this is impossible oh wait it is!" Josh shouted. "Reverse card open Draining Shield so not only is your attack negated but I gain Life Points thanks sucker!"

**(Reina: 3500 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 6800 – SPC: 12)**

"Damn it you tricked me!" Reina snarled.

"Of course it's because you forgot I'm a proud member of the New Domino Duel Academy Acting Crew!" the Dragon duelist laughed.

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina hissed.

"I'm going to activate my Speed Spell – Sinister Revival and I'll use it to bring back my Red Dragon!" a void opened above Josh and his ace monster flew out of it.

"Now I'll activate Speed Spell – Level Swap Out!" he said. "This card can only be activated when I have six or more Speed Counters and I have plenty, now I just have to send a monster on my field back to the Deck then I can Special Summon a monster from my Deck with the same level!"

"So I'll return Red Dragon to bring out Tyrant Dragon!" Red Dragon dissolved into motes of light that quickly reformed into Tyrant Dragon. (LV8/ATK 2900/DEF 2500) "Tyrant Dragon incinerate her Nitro Warrior with Tyrant's Blaze!" the orange Dragon breathed stream of flame immolating Reina's monster.

**(Reina: 3400 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 6800 – SPC: 12)**

"And he gets to attack again since you have a second monster go Tyrant Dragon!" the Dragon Lord breathed another wave of flames.

"Reverse card open!" Reina cried. "Desert Sunlight so all my monsters are switched into defense mode!" the Golem covered itself with its arms just as the fire struck it causing the flames. To Josh's surprise the Golem was still around after the attack faded.

"Wait it can survive an attack!" he shouted.

"Yes but only while it was in defense mode," Reina smirked.

"Fine I'll end my turn," the blond boy said.

"Alright I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Reina said.

"Tyrant Dragon attack her Golem with Tyrant's Blaze!" the Dragon Lord breathed a cone of flames.

"Reveal face down card Negate Attack!" a familiar swirling vortex appeared and blocked the attack.

"I have to admire you moxie!" Josh laughed. "You're skill hasn't dulled in the least!"

"The same can be said about you," Reina replied.

"I'll end my turn," Josh said.

"Alright I'll call out my second Junk Synchron!" a second mechanical looking Warrior appeared on the field. "And I'll use his effect to bring back Fortress Warrior!" the stone Warrior jumped out of the portal and crashed onto the field.

"Now I'll activate Speed Spell – Angelic Assistance and since I have no other cards in my hand I get to draw three times!" Reina announced.

"Now I'll tune my level three, Junk Synchron and my level two, Fortress Warrior…..," Reina began.

"_Cluster stars will awaken the dark fighter born to serve justice! Become the path light is born upon! Let's go, Synchro Summon Junk Warrior!"_

Junk Synchron pulled its ripcord and then rocketed forward becoming three green rings. Fortress Warrior jumped through them becoming transparent. From the burst of light Junk Warrior appeared. He spun around and threw a punch with a roar. (LV5/ATK 2300/DEF 1300)

"And I'm not done yet since I just Synchro Summoned I can Special Summon my Synchro Magnet!" a small cylindrical Machine with two small arms and no legs floated onto the field. (LV3/ATK 1000/DEF 600)

"For my final trick my activating one of my face down Star Shot which allows me to lower the level of one of my monster by how ever many levels I choose and then hit you for 300 points of damage per level dropped, so I'll decrease my level four Golem to a level one monster!" three balls of light appeared around the Golem and then flew at Josh.

**(Reina: 3400 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 5900 – SPC: 12)**

"Now I'll tune my level three, Synchro Magnet and my now level one, Gogogo Golem….," she began.

"_These clustering blazes with combine to create a red hot force! Become the path light is born upon. Synchro Summon let's go Armory Arm!"_

Synchro Magnet floated into the air and turned into three rings. The Golem flew through them becoming wireframe. From the burst of light appeared a mechanical arm with clawed fingers. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"Alright I'm going to equip Armory Arm to Junk Warrior!" Junk Warrior held his arm out to the side. The back part of Armory Arm opened and in a burst of sparks attached itself to Junk Warrior's arm. (LV5/ATK 2300-3300/DEF 1300)

"Crap," Josh muttered.

"Attack his Tyrant Dragon with Power Gear Fist!" Junk Warrior flew forward and slashed Tyrant Dragon with its new claws causing the Dragon to howl in pain and shatter.

**(Reina: 3400 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 5500 – SPC: 12)**

"And it's not over yet because thanks to Armory Arm's other effect you take 2900 points of damage!" a ball of fire appeared on Junk Warrior's palm, he roared and slammed it into Josh's bike.

**(Reina: 3400 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 2600 – SPC: 10)**

"Alright I'll end my turn," Reina smirked.

**(Reina: 3400 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 2600 – SPC: 11)**

"I'll set a monster face down along with a face down card and then I'll end my turn," Josh said.

**(Reina: 3400 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 2600 – SPC: 12)**

"Junk Warrior destroy his face down monster!" Junk Warrior slashed the face down monster revealing a Dragon with two heads on the end of its arms.

"That was my Twin-Headed Behemoth and it will be back during my End Phase and now I'll activate Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment!" Pikeru appeared and surrounded Josh with a circle with glowing runes around the edge. "All effect damage becomes zero this turn."

"Alright I'll end my turn," Reina said.

A small tornado appeared next to Josh and from it flew the two headed Dragon. (LV3/ATK 1500-1000/DEF 1200-1000)

"And now I can activate the effect of my Jump Dragon!" a small Dragon with rocket pack on its back appeared next to Twin-Headed Behemoth. (LV1/ATK 500/DEF 300) "Since a Dragon type monster was Special Summoned I was allowed to Special Summon him from my hand."

"Now I'll summon Debris Dragon!" the miniature version of Stardust appeared. (LV4/ATK 1000/DEF 2000) "But I choose not to use its effect and instead I'll tune my level four, Debris Dragon my level three, Twin-Headed Behemoth and my level one, Jump Dragon….," he began.

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" _

Debris Dragon flew into the air and became three gates. They surrounded the two Dragons transforming them into orange framework. Red Dragon appeared above Josh a second time with a thunderous roar.

"Now I'll activate my face down Synchro Strike so Red Dragon gains 500 attack points for each Synchro Material monster I used to summon him and I used three!" a burning aura appeared around Red Dragon. (LV8/ATK 3000-4500/DEF 2000) "Destroy her Junk Warrior with your Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon roared and slashed Junk Warrior with its burning claws.

**(Reina: 2200 – SPC: 11) - (Josh: 2600 – SPC: 12)**

"I activate my face down!" Reina shouted. "Warrior's Pride allows me to revive Junk Warrior and he can't be destroyed during this turn," the ground burst open and Junk Warrior flew out.

"Alright I'll set a card and end my turn," Josh said. (LV8/ATK 4500-3000/DEF 2000)

**(Reina: 2200 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 2600 – SPC: 12)**

"Alright Josh it's time I end this and I'll start it off by Speed Spell – Speed Energy!" Reina shouted. "Junk Warrior gains 2400 attack points!" energy started to seep off the track and a surrounded Junk Warrior. (LV5/ATK 2300-4700/DEF 1300)

"Then I'll follow that with Speed Spell – Final Attack!" Junk Warrior roared as red energy started to crackle around it. "Junk Warrior's attack points will be doubled until the End Phase and he can't attack directly but who cares this ends now!" (LV5/ATK 4700-9400/DEF 1300)

"Junk Warrior end this with Final Scrap Fist!" Junk Warrior flew forward its fist glowing red hot.

"Reverse card open!" Josh shouted. "Dragon's Immortality, since this card was activated Red Dragon cannot be destroyed by battle and if I pay 500 Life Points I'll receive no damage from a battle involving him!"

**(Reina: 2200 – SPC: 12) - (Josh: 2100 – SPC: 12)**

Junk Warrior's fist smashed into Red Dragon who howled in pain and flew back but remained unharmed. "Crap," Reina muttered. "Alright I'll end my turn," Junk Warrior howled in pain and shattered.

"I summon Magna Drago!" the arrow headed Dragon flew onto the field and looked up at Red Dragon. "Now I could finish you with my current ace or I could use the monster I used to get my current ace….I'll tune my level two, Magna Drago and my level eight, Red Dragon Archfiend!"

"_All those who dare to oppose the king will face his most deadly minion! His burning soul decimating all who stand before him! Synchro Summon incinerate it all, Trident Dragion!"_

Magna Drago flew into the air and transformed into two green rings. Red Dragon roared as the rings surrounded him turning him into a wireframe version of him. Instead of light flames appeared and slowly took shape into the three headed crimson Dragon. (LV10/ATK 3000/DEF 2800) "I choose to not use its effect and instead I'll just attack you directly!" the three heads each spewed a wave of fire that rushed towards Reina.

"I activate the effect of Battle Fader!" a tiny Fiend with a bell and pendulum appeared. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0) The pendulum smashed into the bell creating a wave of sound that halted the flames. "So your attack is negated and the Battle Phase ends!"

"Fine," Josh sighed. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"I activate Speed Spell – Shift Down and remove six of my Speed Counters to draw twice!" Reina's Runner slowed down severely causing her to fall behind.

**(Reina: 2200 – SPC: 6) - (Josh: 2100 – SPC: 12)**

"Now I'll activate Speed Spell – Synchro Return and since I have six Speed Counters I can bring back Drill Warrior!" a portal opened above Reina and Drill Warrior flew out of it. "Next I'll call out my Changer Synchron!" a small light yellow robot with a blue gem on its chest flew out and joined Reina's other monsters. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0)

"What are you planning on summoning?" Josh asked.

"I'm tuning my level one, Changer Synchron with my level six, Drill Warrior and my level one, Battle Fader….!" Reina began.

"_These clustering cries will awaken a Warrior to annihilate the forces of evil! Become the path light is born upon! Synchron Summon, appear now my ace in the hole Colossal Fighter!"_

Changer Synchron flew into the air and became a single ring. The ring surrounded Battle Fader and Drill Warrior turning them see through. From the light appeared a hulking Warrior covered in white armour. (LV8/ATK 2800/DEF 1000)

"Oh shit," Josh hissed.

"You remember him don't you Josh well I'll remind you of his effect he gains 100 attack points for every Warrior my Graveyard!" the spirits of Reina's Warrior monster's appeared and energy from them started to flow into Colossal Fighter. (LV8/ATK 2800-3400/DEF 1000) "Colossal Fighter attack is Trident Dragion with Colossal Knuckle!" Colossal Fighter flew forward through Trident Dragion's flames and hit the Dragon with a powerful uppercut.

**(Reina: 2200 – SPC: 6) - (Josh: 1700 – SPC: 12)**

"This is over!" Reina roared as her face down card flipped open. "Reveal Relentless Attack so Colossal Fighter can attack again and this time no Spell or Trap cards can be activated in response, go!" the massive Warrior flew forward and punched the front of Josh's bike causing him to spin out as several vents opened up.

**(Reina: 2200 – SPC: 6) - (Josh: 0 – SPC: 12)**

"Winner, Reina Fudo!" the M.C. roared.

Later

Josh was talking to his group. "Don't worry boss you did great!" Morton said.

"You almost had her," Ami said.

"I just wish Alexandria could've seen me duel," Josh muttered before walking away.

"Josh wait!" a voice shouted.

Josh turned around to see Reina running after him. "Come to gloat?" he asked.

"Nope," Reina said holding out her fist. Josh blinked in confusion and then the two bumped fists.

"It's been a long time," he said.

"We've been fighting for much too long," Reina said. "So why don't we put our differences aside and forget about that stupid argument."

Josh seemed to think for a moment and then grinned. "Ya I'm kind of getting tired of our feud."

"Good so tell Alexandria when she wakes up to stop insulting me….or else," Reina said grabbing Josh by the collar and pulling him to eye level.

The blond boy looked scared for a second then regained his composure. "Sure I'll talk to her just crush Archer for me."

"No problem friend," Reina grinned.

**Zeke: So those two are friends.**

**Rob: Finally their fighting was getting old.**

**Vincent: Josh and Reina are pals again! **

**Reina: Yep don't miss Dragon vs. Dragon.**

**Josh: Or you'll be sorry.**

**Original Cards**

Pup of Red Dragon

Dark | Level 3 | Dragon/Tuner | 1500/1000 | If this card is used as Synchro Material for the Synchro Summon of a Dragon type Synchro monster that monster is not effected by any Trap cards until the End Phase.

Dragonic Guardian

Earth | Level 4 | Dragon/Effect | 800/1900 | You may release this card and until the End Phase all Dragon type monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects.

Shooting Star Shower

Image: Six balls of light floating out of the corpse of Deathkaiser Dragon and bombarding Marauding and his troops.

| Trap | When a Synchro monster you control is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the level of the destroyed monster x200.

Reverse Mist

Image: A shadowy puppeteer cloaked in a veil of purple mist.

| Continuous Trap | Activate only when your opponent Special Summons a monster. Gain control of that 1 monster. If your opponent gains control of that monster, destroy this card. If this card is removed from the field, your opponent regains control of the monster

(This card was first used by Tokunosuke Omoteura in episode six of Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal, all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode ura.)

Speed Spell – Level Swap Out

Image: A blurry Turret Warrior appearing in place of Junk Warrior.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 6 or more Speed Counters. Send one monster on your side of the field back to your Deck or Extra Deck and Special Summon from your Deck a monster with the same level as the returned monster.

Star Shot

Image: Four balls of light floating off Fortune Lady Earth and striking a duelist who looks like Jack.

| Trap | Decrease the level of one of your monsters by any number until the End Phase. Your opponent takes 300 points of damage for each level the selected monster lost.

Jump Dragon

Fire | Level 1 | Dragon/Effect | 500/300 | When a Dragon type monster is Special Summoned to your side of the field you may Special Summon this card from your hand.

Warrior's Pride

Image: Shield Warrior rising out of the ground with multiple swords planting in the background.

| Trap | Activate only when a Warrior-Type monster you control is destroyed by battle. Special Summon that monster. It cannot be destroyed by battle during this turn.

(This card was first used by Yusei Fudo's manga counterpart in Yu-gi-oh! 5D's manga ride 001 creative credit goes to the writers of that chapter.)

Speed Spell – Final Attack

Image: B.E.S. Tetran wrapped in fire flying towards a fleet of Gradius'.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 8 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 face-up monster you control. Double its ATK. That monster cannot attack your opponent directly. Destroy it during the End Phase.

(This card was first used by Yusei Fudo in episode 26 of Yu-gi-oh! 5D's all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Dragon's Immortality

Image: Fiend Skull Dragon walking out a wall of fire created by Black Brutdrago.

| Trap | Select a face up Dragon monster you control. Until the End Phase of this turn that monster cannot be destroyed by battle. You may pay 500 Life Points to decrease the damage from all battles involving the selected Dragon to zero.

Speed Spell – Synchro Return

Image: Junk Warrior covered in light with a purple background behind him.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 5 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 of your removed from play Synchro Monsters, and Special Summon it. Remove it from play during the End Phase.

(This card was first used by Yusei Fudo in episode 21 of Yu-gi-oh! 5D's all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)


	38. Ch38: Dragon vs Dragon

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Dragon vs. Dragon

The sun had set and most of the residents of New Domino were going to bed so they'd be rested for the final match tomorrow. But Reina as sitting in her room going over her Deck, she wanted it to be perfect. "Alright with these changes I know can beat Archer tomorrow," she said.

A loud ping caught her attention startling her. "What in the Hell was that?" she asked. She looked at her computer. "Huh I have mail alright but who sent it?"

She looked at the name and just cocked an eyebrow. "Fairyqueen456 I've never heard that name before," Reina said. It said 'This is a challenge!'

"This is weird who would challenge me?" she asked. "Anyone who saw the finals today would know I can't duel."

She sighed and clicked opened the email. After she read it her blood ran cold. "Hello Reina Fudo you may not know me but I know you. I'm Miranda Gottschalk better known as Leon Archer's second in command! He wishes to spare the formalities and challenge you tonight so come to the Duel Stadium. And if you tell your parents or Security or just plain don't feel like showing up then you're friends lives are forfeit especially that girl in a coma! You have until 12:30 A.M. to show up or we'll have one of your friends and their families killed every hour."

Reina's face was bright red. "No one threatens my friends or my family and gets away with it," she hissed.

She grabbed her Deck and Duel Disk off her bed and walked out to the garage. "You want to face me now Archer then fine," she growled before attaching her Disk to her Runner. She jumped on started it up and rode out the door.

Several minutes later

The stadium was in sight and Reina grinned. "This nightmare will finally be over," she said with a grin.

"Reina what are you doing here?" someone asked.

Reina blinked in confusion and looked beside her. "Josh what in the Hell are you doing here?"

"Archer's right hand woman sent me a message saying if I didn't come to the stadium before twelve-thirty they'd start killing my crew and Alexandria," he explained.

"I basically got the same kind of message," Reina muttered.

They continued on until they arrived at their destination. They both skidded to a halt when they saw someone standing in front of the stadium entrance. She had light red hair down to her shoulders and grey eyes and an almost goofy grin, she wore a t-shirt with a wing like design on the front and blue jeans and a Duel Disk shaped like a wing was on her arm.

"Hallo kinder," Miranda said with a laugh.

Reina blinked in confusion and Josh sneered. "I take it your German or at least speak it?" he asked.

"That was German and how are you lacking an accent?" Reina asked.

"I've been living in Japan for long enough to learn to hide my accent," Miranda chuckled. "How do you know German du kleiner mann?"

"Alright don't call me little and I known German because I've been taking German classes since Junior High," Josh explained.

"Mostly because you're terrible at English," Reina chuckled.

"Reina this is not the time to talk about that," Josh growled.

"Yes what it's time for is for you two to duel me," Miranda laughed.

"What?" both teens shouted.

Miranda pulled out a remote with a button on it and clicked the button causing the stadium's entrances to slam shut. "Simple really if you want this," she said holding up the remote. "You're going to have to beat me!"

"I'll take you on," Josh said getting off his bike. He disengaged his Disk and clamped onto his Wrist Dealer.

"Alright let the games begin!" Miranda laughed activating her Duel Disk.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

**(Josh: 8000) - (Miranda: 8000)**

While they were both drawing their opening hands Reina pulled a card out of her Side Deck and grinned.

"I'll be making the first move," Miranda laughed. "I'll start off with the Field Spell, The Sanctuary In the Sky!" the outside of the stadium was suddenly teleported to a sea of clouds with a large stone temple behind the red head. "While here….," she began.

"I know any battle damage to the controller of a Fairy monster is reduced to zero," Josh interrupted.

"Alright I'll set a card face down and then a face down card," she said.

"Good I'll start off with Luster Dragon!" the sapphire Dragon jumped onto the field with a growl. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 1600) "Attack her face down with Sapphire Slasher!" the Dragon roared and jumped at the face down monster.

Only to be repelled by what looked like a pink blob of cream with an upside down face. (LV3/ATK 300/DEF 500) "That's Marshmallon but you likely know that already and since you attacked him while he was face down you take damage!" Marshmallon started to glow red and then so did Josh who screamed out in pain.

**(Josh: 7000) - (Miranda: 8000)**

"Wait that didn't really hurt, this isn't a Darkness Game or not?" he asked confused.

"Nope I didn't really want to start of one of those," Miranda said with a shrug.

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh growled.

"Josh do you think you can handle her on your own?" Reina asked.

"Of course I can if you want to go then take Archer down," he answered.

"Good luck then," Reina said before jumping on her Runner. "Alright open!" she commanded. And to Miranda's shock the doors all open and Reina drove by with a cheeky grin.

"Wait how'd she do that?" Miranda demanded.

"I'd have to guess Electric Virus I was happy not to see it during our duel so she must have never drawn it," Josh laughed.

"Damn it," Miranda hissed. She quickly regained her composure. "Fine it doesn't matter Leon will still win."

"That's what you think," Josh sneered. "Alright let's get back to dueling!"

"Alright I'll summon Zolga!" next to Marshmallon appeared what looked like a floating cloak with a mask with the eye of Anubis on its forehead. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 1200)

"Alright it's certainly a weird looking monster but it's too weak to beat Luster Dragon," Josh said.

"True but it won't be the one to beat your Lust Dragon because I'm activating Double Summon and well its name is self explanatory!" Miranda grinned. "I release Zolga to call out Tethys, Goddess Light!" Zolga vanished in a burst of light and from it appeared a woman in armour with several jewels on the front and large feathered wings floating behind her back. (LV5/ATK 2400/DEF 1800) "Oh yes and because Zolga was released for an Advance Summon I gain 2000 Life Points."

**(Josh: 7000) - (Miranda: 10,000)**

"Destroy his Luster Dragon with Luminous Flash!" Tethys raised her hand and fired a ball of light that struck Luster Dragon blowing it to shards.

**(Josh: 6500) - (Miranda: 10,000)**

"Too bad you're Dragon just go blown to smithereens!" the Fairy duelist laughed.

"Just keep laughing you'll regret it," Josh growled.

"I'll activate Graceful Charity!" much to Josh's surprise no angel appeared but Miranda drew and discarded anyway. "Alright I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"Alright I'll just have to set a monster along with a face down card," Josh said.

"Hold up before you end your turn I activate Solemn Wishes!" the Trap card flipped open causing Josh to growl. "And now my Tethys' effect activates and since I drew Nova Summoner I can draw another card and don't forget my Trap activates!"

**(Josh: 6500) - (Miranda: 10,500)**

"Next up its Airknight Parshath so I can draw again!" she laughed.

**(Josh: 6500) - (Miranda: 11,000)**

She spun the card around revealing Freya, Spirit of Victory.

**(Josh: 6500) - (Miranda: 11,500)**

"Well I don't feel like showing you this next one so my drawing ends," the red head chuckled. "Now I summon Freya, Spirit of Victory!" a woman dressed like a cheerleader even holding a pair of pom-poms appeared. (LV1/ATK 100/DEF 100)

"And Freya has a useful effect all Fairy monsters gain 400 attack and defense points and you may not select her as an attack target as long as I control other Fairy monsters!" Miranda's monsters started to glow blue. (LV3/ATK 300-700/DEF 500-900) (LV5/ATK 2400-2800/DEF 1800-2200) (LV1/ATK 100-500/DEF 100-500)

"Alright Tethys annihilate his face down monster!" the Goddess raised her hand and smote Masked Dragon with a blast of light.

"Thanks now I'll call out my Delta Flyer!" the brown Dragon tuner flew onto the field with a loud screech. (LV3/ATK 1500/DEF 900)

"Alright I'll end my turn with a face down card," Miranda said.

"Alright I'll summon Mirage Dragon!" the yellow serpentine Dragon flew onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 600)

"You're Exploder Dragonwing can't help you and neither can Red Dragon!" Miranda shouted.

"Alright then I'll show you a new trick thanks to a new friend of mine," Josh sneered. "First I'll raise my Mirage Dragon's level with my Delta Flyer's effect!" Delta Flyer started to glow and a ball of light appeared above and fused with Mirage Dragon. (LV4-5/ATK 1600/DEF 600)

"I tune my level three, Delta Flyer and my level five, Mirage Dragon…!" he roared.

"_This mighty servant of the king will streak down the path of light straight onto the battle field! All so see its glorious light will be brought to their knees! Synchro Summon Light End Dragon!"_

Delta Flyer took off straight up. It became three rings that Mirage Dragon flew through causing it to become five stars. A serpentine Dragon with four feathered rings and a gold helmet with a ring on the back floated above Josh and roared. (LV8/ATK 2600/DEF 2100)

"Oh very nice Dragon and I'm guess it has an effect you can use to blow of Tethys," Miranda said.

"Yes Light End blast Tethys your Shining Sublimation!" the feathered Dragon growled and fired a beam of light towards the angel. "Now activate your Light Expansion which will lower Tethys' attack points by 1500 at the cost of 500 points off both of Light End scores!" a sphere of light spread from the Dragon covering Tethys. (LV5/ATK 2800-1300/DEF 2200) (LV8/ATK 2600-2100/DEF 2100-1600)

Tethys screamed as the blast struck her causing her to explode into millions of pixels.

"Ugh that damn Field Spell," Josh hissed.

"Handy don't you think," Miranda chuckled giving Josh the raspberry.

"Ugh whatever I'll set a card face down," Josh hissed.

**(Josh: 6500) - (Miranda: 12,000)**

"I have nearly double your Life Points isn't that simply amazing," Miranda giggled.

"To you this is just some sick game isn't it?" Josh spat.

"Maybe just a bit but I do this all in loyal service of Leon!" Miranda announced.

"How can you serve someone who would throw out those who work for over something as insignificant as failure?" the Dragon duelist asked sounding angry.

"While I don't totally agree with the dumping people over minor failures why does it matter Archer is the King they are his subjects they only exist to serve him and amuse him!" the Fairy duelist responded.

"No a king exists to help his subjects!" Josh snarled. "Without his subjects a king is merely one man, but without a king the subjects might become lost! Archer isn't a king he's a monster!"

"What a foolish thing to say!" Miranda laughed sounding somewhat annoyed. "Subjects can be replaced. You're just a little boy playing king!"

"Just get on with your move," the blond boy hissed.

"Gladly, I've had enough ideological bullshit for one duel." Miranda said returning to her cheery sounding self.

"Alright I'll activate Cards from the Sky!" a bright ball of light appeared over Miranda's head. "I simply have to remove a Light Fairy from my hand and my Airknight Parshath will do then I get to draw two cards though I can't Special Summon or conduct my Battle Phase but that's alright."

**(Josh: 6500) - (Miranda: 12,500)**

"I'll end my turn by moving Freya into defense mode," Freya took a few steps back but then went back to cheering.

"I can't do anything so I'll pass," Josh growled.

"I activate Miraculous Descent!" the same ball of light appeared again. "This card kind of acts like Call of the Haunted only I have to Special Summon the monster from the removed from play zone and it has to be a Fairy to meet Airknight Parshath!" from the light appeared a centaur wearing blue and gold armour and holding a short sword and a shield. (LV5/ATK 1900-2300/DEF 1400-1800)

**(Josh: 6500) - (Miranda: 13,000)**

"I'm not afraid of your pony," Josh smirked.

"Let me guess one of those face down cards is Forbidden Chalice the moment I attack you'll trigger it resetting your Dragon's effect and giving it 3000 attack points," the Fairy duelist sneered. "If you were smart you'd have activated it last turn to get rid of Freya or Marshmallon but you didn't because you're just a stupid child."

Josh just snarled. "Too bad I'm going to end my turn with a face down card," Miranda laughed.

Josh gritted his teeth and drew. "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn."

**(Josh: 6500) - (Miranda: 13,500)**

"Good I just drew one of my favourite monsters and one this places guardians!" Miranda announced. "I call out The Agent of Force – Mars!" the door of the temple flew open and from it flew a man with red skin and purple feathered wings holding a war hammer. (LV3/ATK 0-400/DEF 0-400)

"Oh shit," Josh whispered.

"By the shocked expression on your face you must know his effect and that is he gains attack and defense points equal to the difference in our Life Points and he can't be affected by Spell cards," the red head explained. (LV3/ATK 400-7400/DEF 400-7400) "Mars destroy his Light End Dragon with Hammer of Desolation!" Mars raised his weapon and flew at Josh's monster. The hammer hit with a thunderous blow annihilating the Dragon.

"That had to hurt!" Miranda laughed.

"Oh not really," Josh snickered.

Miranda's jaw dropped when she noticed the card fading away. "Defense Draw, damn it that attack didn't even faze you."

"Nope," Josh said confidently.

"Parshath attack his face down monster!" the centaur charged forward and slashed the face down revealing Golem Dragon.

**(Josh: 6,200) - (Miranda: 14,000)**

"Every time I damage you Mars only grows stronger and I get to draw a card because Parshath inflicted damage!" the Fairy duelist laughed. (LV3/ATK 7400-8200/DEF 7400-8200)

"Thank you captain obvious," Josh sneered.

"I'll end my turn with face down card," she growled.

"I'll summon my Axe Dragonute!" a Dragon dressed in black armour holding a large battle axe flew onto the field. (LV4/ATK 2000/DEF 1200)

"Now I'll activate one of my face down cards which was Forbidden Chalice and I'll be targeting your Marshmallon!" a blue aura appeared around Marshmallon causing it to cringe. (LV3/ATK 700-1100/DEF 900)

"Now I activate Pot of Greed!" the grinning jar appeared and Josh drew twice. "Good I'm going to activate Heavy Storm!" a powerful blast of wind smashed into the field destroying all cards in the back rows. Airknight Parshath clutched his chest before shattering and Mars fell to the ground weakened. (LV3/ATK 8200-400/DEF 8200-400)

"Alright now I'll give my Dragonute Axe of Fools which will give it 1000 attack points and negate its effect but it has a cost," Josh explained as the Dragon's own axe vanished and was replaced with a larger one with a comedic face in the center. (LV4/ATK 2000-3000/DEF 1200) "Finally I'll activate Berserker Assault so my Dragonute can attack all of your monsters, so go starting with Mars!" the armoured Dragon snarled and cleaved the angel in two.

**(Josh: 6,200) - (Miranda: 11,400)**

The Dragon raised the axe into the air and hurled it to its side slicing Marshmallon and then Freya in two.

"Now I'll end my turn," Josh sneered.

"Damn you," Miranda hissed.

"I'll activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" both duelists pulled three cards off the top of their Decks. "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn by activating my second Sanctuary in the Sky!" the clouds and stone temple reappeared.

The axe in the armoured Dragon's hands started to glow red and so did Josh.

**(Josh: 5,700) - (Miranda: 11,400)**

"I'll call out Masked Dragon!" the red and white Dragon appeared in a burst of flames. (LV3/ATK 1400/DEF 1100) "Attack her face down monster with Masked Flame!" the weaker Dragon breathed a ball of fire incinerating a wreath made of crystal.

"Nova Summoner I figured," Josh muttered.

"Yes and I'll call out my second!" in a burst of light a second wreath appeared. (LV4/ATK 1400/DEF 800)

"Alright Dragonute do it!" the axe wielding Dragon leapt up and sliced the Fairy in half.

"No problem I have another!" a third wreath appeared. "Now kindly end your turn."

"Not just yet because I activate Dragon's Gunfire!" Josh laughed. "I can either hit you for 800 points of damage or toast one of your monsters with 800 or less defense and your Nova Summoner fits the bill!" Masked Dragon spat another ball of flames immolating the crystal Fairy.

"Now I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh said.

"I'll discard my Hecatrice to add Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen to my hand and then I'll activate it," the Spell card appeared on the field showing a room with a throne at the far end. "Since I control no monsters I can use this to call out a Fairy type monster like my Athena!" the Spell card started to glow and formed a door of light. From it stepped a woman with long platinum blonde hair holding a weird looking spear and a round shield. (LV7/ATK 2600/DEF 800)

"Athena attack his Masked Dragon with Spear of Light!" the Goddess' spear started to glow and she rushed forward impaling the weaker Dragon.

**(Josh: 4,500) - (Miranda: 11,400)**

"I'll end my turn with two face down cards," Miranda said.

The axe started to glow again and Josh cringed slightly.

**(Josh: 4,000) - (Miranda: 11,400)**

"Dragonute attack Athena!" the Dragon raised its weapon and flew forward.

"Reverse card open!" Miranda cried. "Mystical Space Typhoon so your axe is gone and your Dragon is finished!" the cyclone flew out of the Spell card and shattered the axe. The Dragon's normal axe bounced of the Goddess' shield harmlessly before it was impaled on her spear.

**(Josh: 3,400) - (Miranda: 11,400)**

"Fine I'll set a monster face down and that'll be all," Josh said.

"I'll summon The Agent of Miracles – Jupiter!" another angel appeared this one had red skin like Mars only he wore a headdress and carried no weapon. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1000)

"And now Athena's effect activates and you take 600 points of damage!" the Goddess raised her shield and fired a beam of light at Josh who cried out in pain.

**(Josh: 2,800) - (Miranda: 11,400)**

"What how did that actually hurt?" Josh asked. He noticed that black fog was seeping out of the stadium.

"It looks like Leon has summoned his Wicked Gods and their combined evil is leaking out of the stadium," Miranda explained. "So this duel has because a sort of pseudo-Darkness Game."

"Just great," Josh muttered.

"It's not over yet I activate Athena's other effect and send Jupiter to the Graveyard to Special Summon a Fairy type monster from my Graveyard like Jupiter!" Jupiter vanished in beam of light only to reappear moment's later. Athena blasted Josh with another bolt of light.

**(Josh: 2,200) - (Miranda: 11,400)**

"Now I'll activate Jupiter's effect and remove Mars from play to increase Athena's attack points by 800 until the End Phase!" Jupiter created a ball of light above his palm and threw it at Athena causing her to glow. (LV7/ATK 2600-3400/DEF 800)

"Jupiter attack his face down monster!" the Agent flew forward and punched a small green scaled Dragon man in the face shattering it.

"That was my Troop Dragon and since it died by battle I get another one from my Deck!" another Troop Dragon appeared covering itself with its shield. (LV2/ATK 700/DEF 800)

"Fine Athena attack his Troop Dragon!" the Goddess lunged and impaled the small Dragon.

"I'll call out my last Troop Dragon!" the final Troop Dragon appeared again shielding itself.

"I'll end my turn," Miranda said. (LV7/ATK 3400-2600/DEF 800)

"I'll activate my Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the familiar grinning jar appeared and both duelists drew. "Now I'll summon my Twin-Headed Behemoth!" a Dragon with two heads in place of hands appeared. (LV3/ATK 1500/DEF 1200) "Now I'll activate Monster Reborn to revive my Delta Flyer!" the Dragon Tuner flew out of the ankh with a scream.

"Now I'll tune my level three, Delta Flyer with my level three, Twin Headed Behemoth and my level two, Troop Dragon…..!"

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" _

Delta Flyer streaked straight up and became two green rings. The two other Dragons flew through becoming see-through. From the burst of light appeared Josh's ace monster. (LV8/ATK 3000/DEF 2000)

"Next I'll activate Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon roared and smashed its claws into the ground causing a wave of flames to engulf the two Fairy monsters. "Granted he's not allowed to attack but I can get around that by activating my face down card Assault Mode Activate!" Red Dragon was swallowed up by a pillar of light and emerged in its armoured form. (LV10ATK 3500/DEF 2500)

"Attack her directly with your Extreme Crimson Force!" the Assault Mode monster roared and smashed Miranda's side of the field with a massive ball of flames causing her to cry out.

**(Josh: 2,200) - (Miranda: 7,900)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh said.

"Look at the scores boy I'm barely below what I started at you can barely hold on you're finished!" the Fairy duelist laughed.

"It's not over until one of our Life Points hit zero!" Josh declared.

"I'll set a monster and two cards face down and end my turn," Miranda said.

"Red Dragon destroy her monster!" Red Dragon roared and incinerated the face down monster which was a woman with yellow skin and three sphere of light floating around her.

"Now I'll activate the Quick-Play Spell Dragon Firebomb!" Red Dragon roared before being engulfed in fire. "This allows me to destroy a Dragon type monster I control and inflict damage to you equal to half its attack points!" the fire started to shape itself to look like the Assault Mode monster. It roared and flew at Miranda enveloping her in fire.

**(Josh: 2,200) - (Miranda: 6,150)**

"And of course that means Red Dragon's original form returns!" Red Dragon flew out of the flames and roared. "Attack her directly with Absolute Power Force!" the Signer Dragon flew forward and smashed the ground in front of Miranda.

**(Josh: 2,200) - (Miranda: 3,150)**

Miranda stood up with smoke pouring off of her. "Damn you," she hissed.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh said.

"Reverse card open Call of the Haunted!" the Trap card flipped open. "And I'll revive my Airknight Parshath!" the centaur Fairy burst of the ground and raised his sword.

"Now I'll release him to call out his true form Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin!" the centaur Fairy was swallowed by a pillar of light. The light exploded in every direction revealing that the Airknight had changed. He was now much larger with no legs and an enormous halo floated behind his back with an equally large pair of wings attached to it. (LV7ATK 2300/DEF 2000)

"As long as the Sanctuary remain on the field and my Life Points are higher Neo-Parshath gains attack points equal to the difference!" the halo on the angel's back started to glow even brighter. (LV7/ATK 2300-3250/DEF 2000)

"And I'm not done yet because I'm activating Monster Reborn to revive a monster I discard at the start of this duel, my Splendid Venus!" the ankh appeared and from it a Fairy dressed in orange armour with four feathered wings on her back. (LV8/ATK 2800/DEF 2400) "And her very presence weakens all non-Fairy monsters!" Red Dragon Archfiend growled and clutched his chest in pain. (LV8/ATK 3000-2500/DEF 2000-1500)

"Parshath kill his Red Dragon with Heaven's Sword!" the giant Fairy raised his sword and flew at Red Dragon.

"Reverse card open!" a clear dome shaped barrier appeared around Red Dragon and Josh. "My Draining Shield will negate your attack and increase my Life Points equal to your monster's attack points!" the dome dissolved into motes of light that surrounded Josh (LV7/ATK 3250-2300/DEF 2000)

**(Josh: 5,450) - (Miranda: 3,150)**

"Fine Venus wipe out his monster!" the Legendary Planet raised her staff and fired a beam of light vaporizing Red Dragon.

**(Josh: 5,150) - (Miranda: 3,150)**

"I'll end my turn," Miranda growled.

"I'm going to activate Card of Demise so I draw until I have five cards but in five of my Standby Phases my hand is gone!" Josh announced as five flames appeared above his head. "But that won't matter because this duel ends right now I activate Descending Lost Star to revive Red Dragon!" the ground burst open and Red Dragon Archfiend appeared and shielded himself with his wings. (LV7/ATK 3000-2500/DEF 2000-1500)

"Now I'll activate Stamping Destruction to destroy your Field Spell and hit you for 500 points of damage!" Red Dragon stomped the ground causing a massive earthquake making the temple crumbled to powder.

**(Josh: 5,150) - (Miranda: 2,650)**

"Now I'll release Red Dragon to call out Strong Wind Dragon!" the Synchro Dragon vanished and the green scaled hunched over Dragon appeared from a whirlwind. (LV6/ATK 2400-1900/DEF 1000-500)

"And it gains attack points equal to half of Red Dragon's original attack points!" Red Dragon's spirit appeared and fused with the weaker Dragon. (LV6/ATK 1900-3400/DEF 500) "Now I'll activate Double Attack and discard my Tyrant Dragon so Strong Wind Dragon can crush both your monsters. And I'm not I activate Blustering Winds and it will give my Dragon 1000 more attack and defense points!" a powerful wind started to swirl around Strong Wind Dragon. (LV6/ATK 3400-4400/DEF 500-1500) "Annihilate her Splendid Venus with Super Strong Hurricane!" the green Dragon threw back its head and breathed a cyclone that smashed into the Legendary Planet, she screamed before being sent flying. (LV6/ATK 4400-4900/DEF 1500-2000)

**(Josh: 5,150) - (Miranda: 1,050)**

"It's over Miranda any last words?" Josh asked. He only received a glare. "Fine Strong Wind Dragon destroy Neo-Parshath!" the Dragon Monarch fired another cyclone destroying the massive Fairy.

**(Josh: 5,150) - (Miranda: 0)**

"No I can't lose not now we were so close!" Miranda screamed as the darkness started to surround her. "I guess it doesn't matter because in the end you and your friend have only come here to die!"

Josh gritted his teeth and called an ambulance. _"Reina I know you can beat that lunatic,"_ he thought.

Some time earlier inside the stadium

After driving for a short while Reina arrived at the track. "Alright Archer I'm here face me!" she shouted.

"Oh I will Miss Fudo," he said stepping out of hiding.

Reina glared at her adversary and he simply smirked. "I hope you're ready Reina because tonight you're going to die," he said.

**Rob: It's time!**

**Zeke: The final duel of this arc has arrived!**

**Vincent: So get ready folks if you miss this you'll be sad!**

**Reina: Don't miss Ultimate Darkness**

**Josh: Give him Hell Reina!**

**Original Cards**

Absolute Power Force

Image: Red Dragon Archfiend raising his glowing red claws.

| Spell | Activate only while you control a face up 'Red Dragon Archfiend'. Destroy all monsters you opponent controls. 'Red Dragon Archfiend' cannot attack the turn you activated this card.

Dragon Firebomb

Image: A ball of fire that looks like Tyrant Dragon about to smash into the castle from Royal Decree.

| Quick-Play Spell | Destroy a face Dragon type monster you control and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the Attack points of the destroyed monster.


	39. Ch39: Ultimate Darkness

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Ultimate Darkness

Reina glared at Archer and he only looked back with a smirk. "Welcome Reina to stage out of battle!" he laughed.

"Why are you suddenly calling me by my first name?" Reina asked.

"Simple you're about to die so I may as well refer to by your first name," Archer replied.

Reina growled. "Please Archer do you know how many of your goons said something like that?"

"I must thank you for getting rid of Coby he was hurting out efforts to collect souls," Archer said.

"Calling you a monster would be a huge understatement," Reina snarled. "You treat people like garbage!"

"So what, to me my subordinates are nothing more than a means to make me a God!" Archer announced. "Reina you simply don't understand what I have planned for the world!"

"Well then tell me maybe I'll figure it out," Reina said.

"Once I am God things like poverty, hungry and intolerance will all be eradicated," the Head of Security stated. "This world will be a perfect utopia!"

"Yes I think I finally get it now," Reina said.

"You do?" Archer asked sounding puzzled.

"Yes I get that you are completely and utterly insane and in need of some serious medication and a padded room!" she spat.

"I should've figured a stupid child like you would never understand!" Archer growled. "No matter once this is over I'll begin my plans and some blood will have to be shed it doesn't matter!"

A Duel Runner made of grey metal with The Wicked Eraser's face on the front and The Wicked Dreadroot's wings on the side appeared next to Archer. "Let the games begin!"

Both of them pulled up to the starting lines and activated Speed World. The countdown started. "This ends here," Reina said.

The countdown hit zero and both flew forward. Archer pulled ahead and passed the first turn. "Looks like first turn honours go to me!" he shouted tearing six cards off his Deck.

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 0) - (Reina: 8000 – SPC: 0)**

"I'll set a card face down along with a monster and then end my turn," Archer said.

"That's your first move?" Reina asked. "I was expecting something grander."

"I prefer to start slowly and build up to destroying you," Archer said with a smirk.

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Reina: 8000 – SPC: 1)**

"Fine I'll start off by Special Summoning Junk Forward in defense mode since I control no monster," a robotic looking Warrior covered in beige armour with orange jewels on its head and legs jumped onto the field. (LV3/ATK 900/DEF 1500) "Next I'll summon Junk Blader!" the cloaked Warrior jumped onto the field and drew his weapon. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1000)

"Attack his face down monster!" the Junk monster roared and lunged at the face down card. Only to be repelled by a figured covered in white armour with gold highlights holding a shield nearly as large as it was. (LV4/ATK 1000/DEF 2000)

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 1) - (Reina: 7800 – SPC: 1)**

"Reina meet Seraphim Gardna," Archer chucked.

"You have got to be kidding me," Reina muttered. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 2) - (Reina: 7800 – SPC: 2)**

"I summon Seraphim Saber!" from the sky appeared an angel holding a broadsword. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 1500) "And now his effect activates and I choose attack or defense and which ever I choose will be increased by 300 for every other Fairy, I'll go with attack points!" the angel started to glow. (LV4/ATK 1600-1900/DEF 1500)

"Wait so do they have to be summoned for their effect to activate?" Reina asked.

"Yes, and Saber attack her Junk Blader!" the angelic warrior flew forward and stabbed the Warrior in the chest.

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 2) - (Reina: 7700 – SPC: 2)**

"Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Archer said.

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 3) - (Reina: 7700 – SPC: 3)**

"I'm activating Speed Spell – Angel Baton so I draw twice and then discard one card," Reina said plucking two cards off her Deck. "Next I'll activate my face down Powerful Rebirth to bring back the card I just ditched, good old Junk Synchron!" from a burst of red energy Junk Synchron appeared and gave Reina a thumbs up. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 500)

"And your monster gains a level and 100 attack and defense points I know," Archer scoffed. "It can't save you!" (LV3-4/ATK 1300-1400/DEF 500-600)

"Maybe not but my next trick will help because I'm tuning my now level four, Junk Synchron and my level three, Junk Forward…," she began.

"_Clustering anger of this mighty Warrior will bring forth the servant of a fierce God! Become the path light is born upon! Synchron Summon and howl Junk Berserker!"_

Junk Synchron pulled its ripcord and flew forward transforming into four rings. They surrounded Junk Forward reducing it to framework. From the light appeared a hulking robotic Warrior in red armour holding an axe as large as it was. (LV7/ATK 2700/DEF 1800) "Junk Berserker destroy his Seraphim Saber with Berserk Assault!" the Synchro monster roared and swung its weapon at the Fairy.

"I activate Angelic Call!" Archer announced. "This allows me to summon a Fairy from my hand and by discarding another Fairy from my Deck to end the Battle Phase!" in a burst of light Nova Summoner appeared. (LV4/ATK 1900-2200/DEF 1500) (LV4/ATK 1400/DEF 800) Junk Berserker stopped and jumped back to Reina's side of the field looking pissed.

"Don't worry big guy you'll get him next time," she said.

"That monster does have bad luck doesn't he," Archer laughed. "Every time your father has summoned him he gets destroyed without even being able to attack!"

"I'll end my turn," Reina growled.

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 4) - (Reina: 7700 – SPC: 4)**

"I'll move my Saber to defense mode and end my turn with a face down card," the angel sheathed his sword and covered himself with his wings.

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 5) - (Reina: 7700 – SPC: 5)**

"Junk Berserker destroy his Seraphim Saber and because your Saber is in defense mode he is automatically destroyed!" the Warrior roared and cleaved the angel in two with its axe. It floated next to Reina and roared at the sky.

"I activate Card of Last Will and since you destroyed one of my monsters I get to draw five cards," Archer said tearing five cards off his Deck.

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina said.

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 6) - (Reina: 7700 – SPC: 6)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Trap Launcher and since my Speed Counters are four or higher I can activate a Trap card from my hand like Xing Zhen Hu!" the Trap card materialized next to Archer and two blocks crashed down on Reina's Trap cards and were moment's later tied on by ropes. "Now your face down cards are sealed."

"This can only mean one thing," Reina gulped.

"Yes but first I activate the effect of my Cherubim Knight and since control at least two Fairy type monsters I can Special Summon him!" in a burst of light a young man dressed in armour with a pair of feathered wings sticking out of his back and carrying a short sword. (LV2/ATK 800/DEF 600)

"I release all three of my monsters to call forth The Wicked Eraser!" the three Fairies screamed in pain as they were devoured by the black flames. The flames took the shape of the serpentine Wicked God. (LV10/ATK ?/DEF ?) "I take it you remember its effect?"

"Yes for every card I control it gains 1000 attack and defense points," Reina said. (LV10/ATK 0-3000/DEF 0-3000)

"Eraser attack her Junk Berserker with your Digestive Blaze! The Wicked God breathed a wave of green flames that melted the mechanical looking Warrior. (LV10/ATK 3000-2000/DEF 3000-2000)

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 6) - (Reina: 7400 – SPC: 6)**

"And I'm not done yet because I'm activating Speed Spell – Fiendish Burst!" a bolt of energy shot from The Eraser and struck Reina causing her to cry out in pain. "This can only be activated while I have five or more Speed Counters and a Dark Fiend type destroys one of your monsters then you take damage equal to 200 times the destroyed monster's level."

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 6) - (Reina: 6000 – SPC: 5)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Archer said.

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 7) - (Reina: 6000 – SPC: 6)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Synchro Greed and I'll remove Junk Berserker to draw three times," Junk Berserker fell out of Reina's Graveyard and she slid it into the removed from play slot. "Then I'll end my turn with a face down card and a monster in face down defense mode." (LV10/ATK 2000-4000/DEF 2000-4000)

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 8) - (Reina: 6000 – SPC: 7)**

"I summon my Seraphim Berserker!" in a flash of light another angel appeared. This one looked similar to Seraphim Saber only he was more muscular and held a large hammer. (ATK 2000/DEF 400) "This monster has to attack every turn so go destroy her face down monster!" the Fairy roared and slammed his weapon into the face down card revealing a small pink bird with red boots. (LV1/ATK 300/DEF 300)

"Sorry Archer but since your monster has more than 1900 attack points Sonic Chick is safe," Reina smirked.

"Fine I'll end my turn," Archer said.

**(Archer: 8000 – SPC: 9) - (Reina: 6000 – SPC: 8)**

"I'll activate Speed Spell – Synchro Return and since my Speed Counters are higher than four my Junk Berserker is back!" the monstrous looking Junk monster crashed onto the field from the sky. (LV10/ATK 4000-5000/DEF 4000-5000)

"Now I'll call out Turbo Synchron!" the small Synchron with its body like a car jumped onto the field. (LV1/ATK 100/DEF 500) (LV10/ATK 5000-6000/DEF 5000-6000)

"Now I'll tune my level one, Turbo Synchron and my level seven, Junk Berserker…!" Reina began.

"_Clustering hopes will combine to create a shining new star! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Reverberate. Stardust Dragon!"_

Turbo Synchron flipped down its visor and flew forward becoming a single green ring. Junk Berserker flew through it and was rendered transparent. From the light the silvery white Dragon emerged and roared. (LV8/ATK 2500/DEF 2000) (LV10/ATK 6000-5000/DEF 6000-5000)

"Now I'll activate my Graceful Revival to revive my Turbo Synchron!" the small green Tuner jumped out of the Trap card. "Next I'll tune my level one, Turbo Synchron and my level one, Sonic Chick!"

"_These clustering wishes will race to speed's new horizon! Become the path light is born upon! Synchron Summon! Become the power of hope, the Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron!"_

Turbo Synchron turned into a Synchro gate again and this time it went around Sonic Chick who became see-through. From the light came what appeared to be an upgraded Turbo Synchron only its arms and legs were long and its body looked like a Formula One car. (LV2/ATK 200/DEF 1500) (LV10/ATK 5000-4000/DEF 5000-4000)

"Since this little guy was Synchro Summoned I get to draw one card!" Reina explained. Her hands were shaking. _"Damn it I'm too nervous."_

Reina looked at her two monsters then at Archer and growled. _"No I can do this I just have to remember what dad said," she thought._

Some time ago

Reina and her father were racing down the roads of New Domino dueling. He had Junk Warrior powered up by several weaker monsters on his side of the field and a face down card. She had Formula Synchron and Stardust Dragon as well Limit Reverse. "I tune my level two, Formula Synchron and my level eight, Stardust Dragon….," she began.

Red energy started to pour out of Reina's Runner and she accelerated forward past her father. Formula Synchron started to glow but at the last second the energy vanished and the Synchro Tuner stopped glowing. Reina skidded to a halt and punched the dashboard on her bike. "Why can't I do this?" she snarled.

Yusei pulled up beside his daughter. "You can but to achieve Clear Mind you have to let go of all the doubts you have and focus on the task at hand or if that is impossible the bonds with your friends will help you," he explained.

Reina looked at her cards. "My bonds," she muttered.

The present

Reina took a deep breath and felt like a weight lift off her shoulders. _"Yes I can do it for my friends my family and for the city,"_ she said to herself.

"Clear Mind!" she roared. "I'll tune my level two, Synchro Tuner Formula Synchron and my level eight, Stardust Dragon!"

Red energy started to spew out of Reina's bike and Formula Synchro started to glow causing the energy to flow stronger. The Synchro Tuner vanished became two stars.

"_These clustering crystal dreams will tear open the door to a new evolution! Carve the path light is born upon! Accel Synchro!"_ the energy reaches its peak and Reina and Stardust vanished in a flash of light. She reappeared seconds later and flew past Archer. _"Be born, Shooting Star Dragon!"_ Stardust flew over head but it had changed its head and shrunk and its arms and legs were larger along with its wings which had become more plane like. (LV10/ATK 3300/DEF 2500) (LV10/ATK 4000-3000/DEF 4000-3000)

"I was hoping I'd get to see your father's best card!" Archer laughed. "I'll crush it!"

"Wrong you nutcase this is the monster that'll crush you and I'm activating his first effect which allows me to five cards off the top of my Deck and then Shooting Star Dragon can attack once per Tuner I revealed then I shuffle them back into my Deck!" Reina declared tearing five cards off the top of her Deck. "I got Nitro Synchron, Junk Synchron and Quickdraw Synchron!"

Archer's eyes bugged out of his head. "Go Stardust Mirage!" Shooting Star roared and spilt into three copies of itself one red one yellow and one orange. The Accel Synchro monster flew forward slamming into The Wicked Avatar then Seraphim Berserker then Archer.

**(Archer: 6400 – SPC: 8) - (Reina: 6000 – SPC: 8)**

"Hey wait you should've lost far more Life Points than that!" Reina cried before a monster she'd never seen before was in Archer's Graveyard. "Cherubim Defender what does it do?"

"I can discard it if you attack me directly after Fairy type monster is destroyed by battle and it negates all damage from that attack to zero," Archer smirked. A burst of black flames started to cover the field.

"I'll negate your Eraser's destruction effect!" Shooting Star Dragon roared and the flames vanished. "Then I'll end my turn."

**(Archer: 6400 – SPC: 9) - (Reina: 6000 – SPC: 9)**

"I'll set a monster face down along with two face down cards and end my turn," Archer said.

**(Archer: 6400 – SPC: 10) - (Reina: 6000 – SPC: 10)**

"I'll summon Gogogo Golem!" the mono eyed Rock monster jumped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1500)

"Gogogo Golem attack!" the Golem jumped and punched Archer's face down card revealing a familiar wreath of crystal.

"That was my second Nova Summoner now I get a weak Fairy like another one in defense mode!" from a burst of light appeared Archer's last Nova Summoner.

"Shooting Star Dragon attack!" the Accel Synchro monster flew forward and smashed the wreath to pixels.

"I'll call out Marshmallon!" the blob of pink cream appeared. (LV3/ATK 300/DEF 500)

"I'll end my turn with a face down cards," Reina said.

**(Archer: 6400 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 6000 – SPC: 12)**

"I'll activate Speed Spell – Sonic Rebirth and since my Speed Counters are seven or higher I'll use it to revive one of my Nova Summoners!" one of the crystal wreaths appeared on the field from a silver ankh. "Then activate the effect of my second Cherubim Knight and Special Summon it!" from a burst of light appeared another young armoured Fairy.

"I'll release my three monster to call out The Wicked Dreadroot!" the three monsters were consumed by darkness causing them to howl in pain as they melted. The darkness fused together forming a swirling portal. The Wicked Dreadroot pulled itself out up to its waist and roared. (LV10/ATK 4000/DEF 4000)

"Crap!" Reina shouted.

"Yes and as you might remember it halves the attack and defense of all of other monster!" the Wicked God roared causing Gogogo Golem to cower and Shooting Star Dragon to roar back. (LV10/ATK 3300-1650/DEF 2500-1250) (LV4/ATK 1800-900/DEF 1500-750) "And just so you can't so your Shooting Star Dragon can't escape I'll activate Fiendish Chain to negate its effect!" Chains burst of the track and bound the Accel Synchro monster.

"Dreadroot destroy her Shooting Star Dragon with Fears Knockdown!" the Wicked God roared and punched Shooting Star Dragon shattering it to pixels.

**(Archer: 6400 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3650 – SPC: 10)**

"And I'll activate my second Fiendish Burst!" Archer laughed as another bolt of dark energy smashed into Reina causing her to cry out in pain.

**(Archer: 6400 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 1650 – SPC: 8)**

"You may want to give up Reina it'll spare you the pain," Archer said feigning compassion.

"Never Archer I'll win!" Reina declared.

"Why did I even bother asking? You've never given up no matter how bad it looked and you managed to recover from it, but this time you're finished!" Archer announced. "I'll end my turn."

**(Archer: 6400 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 1650 – SPC: 8)**

"I'll move Gogogo Golem to defense mode!" the golem covered itself with its arms and its armour turned brown. "Then I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

**(Archer: 6400 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 1650 – SPC: 9)**

"I activate Speed Spell – Accelerator Draw and since I have twelve Speed Counters I get to draw twice!" just as Archer drew his cards Reina's latest set card flipped open a swirling vortex filled with dirt and debris tore apart Xing Zhen Hu freeing Reina's trapped face down cards.

"Dust Tornado quite a lucky draw," Archer muttered. "No matter I activate Meteorain so this turn my Dreadroot will inflict piercing damage so end this with Fears Knockdown!" the behemoth Fiend roared and threw its fist downward.

"I activate my face down Spellbinding Illusion and as you may remember from my duel with Xander that this card negates your monster's effect and takes off 500 attack points!" the runic circle with the eye of wdjat appeared around the Dreadroot's waist. (LV10/ATK 4000-3500/DEF 4000) (LV4/ATK 900-1800/DEF 750-1500)

"Damn you!" Archer snarled. "I'll end my turn!"

**(Archer: 6400 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 1650 – SPC: 10)**

"I activate my copy of Speed Spell – Sonic Rebirth to revive Shooting Star Dragon!" from the silver ankh emerged the evolved monster with a loud roar. "And I'm not done I activate Burning Fighting Spirit!" Shooting Star Dragon roared as it started to glow red.

"When Shooting Star attacks a monster with more than 3300 attack points his attack points will be doubled so go Stardust Mirage!" Shooting Star split into five versions of itself and then flew at the massive Fiend. (LV10/ATK 3300-6600/DEF 2500)

The five Dragons flew into the Dreadroot from different angles blowing it to pieces. Archer screamed as the explosion causing by his monster dying nearly threw him off his bike.

**(Archer: 3300 – SPC: 9) - (Reina: 1650 – SPC: 10)**

"One more direct attack from my Dragon and this is over!" Reina shouted.

Archer was silent for a moment and then threw back his head. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" he laughed.

"Ok what's so funny," Reina asked fearfully.

"I find it funny to finally realize why none of my subordinates could defeat you!" he laughed. "They all underestimated you and paid the price and I nearly did too but no more!"

"You're full of crap Archer look at the field I just toasted your second Wicked God and I'm going to annihilate the next one!" Reina snarled.

"You can try Reina," Archer said.

"Fine I'll end my turn," she said.

**(Archer: 3300 – SPC: 10) - (Reina: 1650 – SPC: 11)**

"I summon Seraphim Blaster!" a monster looking very similar to the other Seraphim monsters only holding some kind of gun flew onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200) "And I'll declare attack points."

"Then I'll Special Summon my Cherubim Booster!" another young looking angel flew onto the field this one had some kind of jet pack strapped to his back. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 800) (LV4/ATK 1800-2100/DEF 1200)

"Then I'll summon Special Summon my last Cherubim Knight!" the final miniature sword wielding angel appeared. "Now I'll tune my level three, Cherubim Booster and my level two, Cherubim Knight…," he began.

"_One of the seven among God's strongest servants will now descend to destroy all those who would stand it my way! Bring you blade down upon those who would try to stop my ascent! Synchro Summon come forth Archangel Barachiel!"_

Cherubim booster took off into the air and became three green rings that surrounded the younger angel. From the burst of light descended a man dressed in a white robe and armour with brown hair and feathered wings and holding a sword with a rose shaped guard. (LV5/ATK 2300/DEF 1300)

"And now his effect activates and he gains half the original attack points of face up Fairy type monster I control!" energy began to seep off of Seraphim Blaster and started to flow around Barachiel. (LV5/ATK 2300-3200/DEF 1300)

"Barachiel, Blaster destroy her Golem!" the gunner fired several shot from his weapon cracking Gogogo's armour and then the Archangel flew forward and sliced the Rock monster in two.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Archer said.

**(Archer: 3300 – SPC: 11) - (Reina: 1650 – SPC: 12)**

"I'll activate Shooting Star Dragon's effect!" Reina announced pulling five cards off. "I got two Tuner's Mono Synchron and Quickdraw Synchron so my Dragon gets to attack twice, go Stardust Mirage!" Shooting Star split in two and flew at the Fairies.

"Reverse card open Dimensional Prison!" Archer shouted as a tear in reality appeared between Shooting Star Dragon and its targets. The Accel Synchro monster flew into much to Reina's shock.

"Crap!" she screamed. "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn."

**(Archer: 3300 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 1650 – SPC: 12)**

"I summon my Cherubim Gardna!" a young angel carrying a shield flew onto the field. (LV1/ATK 300/DEF 300) (LV4/ATK 2100-2400/DEF 1200)

"Seraphim Blaster attack her face down monster!" the angel raised his gun again and fired several shots striking Reina's Fortress Warrior bouncing off the helipad. (ATK 600/DEF 1200)

"Sorry Archer but once per turn my Fortress Warrior can't be destroyed," Reina sneered.

"Barachiel attack Fortress Warrior!" the angel flew forward and sliced the stone Warrior in two. "Reverse card open Urgent Tuning so I'll tune my level one, Cherubim Defender, my level four, Seraphim Blaster and my level five, Archangel….!"

"_The mightiest of the seven will appear from the sky to smite the enemies of the new GOD! Destroy all who would oppose me! Synchro Summon descent my mightiest servant Archangel Michael!"_

The smallest Fairy tuned into a single ring that surrounded the two stronger Fairies who became framework. From the light appeared a man with black hair golden wings wearing fancy armour hand holding a broadsword. (LV10/ATK 3300/DEF 3000)

"And my monster has a powerful effect he can't be destroyed by Spell or Trap cards that don't target! It's a shame Reina I guess you are not worthy of facing my final Wicked God!" Archer laughed. "Michael end this!" the angel sadly raised his sword and flew at Reina.

"I activate Limit Reverse which allows me to bring back my Fortress Warrior!" the ground burst open and the stone Warrior appeared and blocked the Archangel's blade.

"Fine I'll move to my Main Phase 2 and set a card face down and end my turn," Archer growled.

"I'm activating my copy of Speed Spell – Acceleration Draw!" Reina declared tearing two cards off her Deck. "Next I'll activate Speed Spell – Shift Down and remove six of my Speed Counters to draw twice!"

**(Archer: 3300 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 1650 – SPC: 6)**

"Next I'll release my Fortress Warrior to a call out Salvage Warrior!" Fortress Warrior disappeared and was replaced by a muscular blue skinned creature with two lengths of chain in its hands. "And when he is Advanced Summoned I get a Tuner back from my Graveyard like Junk Synchron!" the Warrior threw one of the chains into a portal beside him and pulled out Junk Synchron.

"How can they help you no level eight Synchro Monster can beat Michael!" Archer sneered.

"We'll see about that because I'm tuning my level three, Junk Synchron and my level five, Salvage Warrior…!" Reina began.

"_Clustering flames will fuse to create a Warrior with a blazing soul! Become the path light in born upon! Synchro Summon burst forth, Crimson Blader!"_

Junk Synchron pulled its ripcord and flew forward becoming three Synchro rings. They surrounded Salvage Warrior who was turned see-through. Instead of light a blast of fire appeared. It was sliced apart revealing a thin Warrior dressed in holding a pair of swords. (LV8/ATK 2800/DEF 2600)

"Finally I'll activate Speed Spell – Half Seize and since my Speed Counters are three or higher I can halve your monsters attack points and add what was taken to my Life Points!" energy started to flow from Michael and into Reina. (LV10/ATK 3300-1650/DEF 3000)

**(Archer: 3300 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3300 – SPC: 6)**

"Crimson Blader slice and dice his monster with your Burning Blades!" the Warrior's blades were engulfed in fire and he rushed forward and slashed Michael with his swords.

**(Archer: 2150 – SPC: 11) - (Reina: 3300 – SPC: 6)**

"Now I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina said.

**(Archer: 2150 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3300 – SPC: 7)**

"I've got something you might want to know Archer," Reina said. "Since Crimson Blader here toasted one of your monsters you can't Normal or Special Summon any monsters higher than level four!"

Archer snarled and threw a card into his Duel Disk. "Fine I'll simply end my turn," he growled.

**(Archer: 2150 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3300 – SPC: 8)**

Just as Reina drew Archer's face down card flipped open "I activate Threatening Roar so you're not allowed to attack his turn," he laughed.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Reina said.

**(Archer: 2150 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3300 – SPC: 9)**

"The time has finally come!" Archer cackled. "I activate Synchro Spirits which allows me to remove Michael from my Graveyard to bring back the monsters I used to call him down!" a spectral version of Michael appeared and split into Barachiel, Seraphim Blaster and Cherubim Defender.

"I release all three of them to call forth the mightiest Wicked God!" the three monsters screamed in pain and shattered in globs of black ooze. The ooze started to fuse together forming a black sphere the size of a basketball. "Awaken now strongest God the God that eclipses other Gods! Come forth The Wicked Avatar!"

The sphere pulsed and then grew until it was the size of a small truck. (LV10/ATK ?/DEF ?)

"How are its stats determined?" Reina gulped.

"This card's attack and defense points are 100 points higher than your strongest monster's attack points and you aren't allowed to activate any Spell or Trap cards until the end your second turn after I summon this card!" Archer explained. The orb started to shift until it looked like a black version of Crimson Blader. (LV10/ATK 0-2900/DEF 0-2900) "Destroy her monster with Dark Burning Blade!" the dark version of Reina's monster roared and charged at the real version and sliced it to pieces.

**(Archer: 2150 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3200 – SPC: 9)**

"So you're plan is to slowly chip away at my Life Points?" Reina asked mockingly. "Good luck with that."

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Archer sneered.

**(Archer: 2150 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3200 – SPC: 10)**

Just as Reina was about to draw Archer's face down card flipped open. "You might remember this from your duel with Xander activate Nihilistic Revival it'll let me revive the Dreadroot!" the ground burst open and the Dreadroot appeared. "The only downside is its effect is negated but really that doesn't matter that much!" Archer laughed. (LV10/ATK 0-4100/DEF 0-4100)

Reina drew didn't bother to look at the card. _"How can I beat those things?"_ she thought. She looked at what she'd draw and smiled. "I'm just going to end my turn Archer with a face down card!"

**(Archer: 2150 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3200 – SPC: 11)**

"Avatar end this with Dark Fears Knockdown!" the hulking dark copy roared and threw its fist forward.

"I activate the effect of Battle Fader!" in a burst of energy the small ugly looking Fiend floated onto the field and floated in front of the two Wicked Gods. It rang its bell causing them to back down.

"Fine I'll end my turn with a face down card," Archer said. _"It doesn't matter what she plays next turn because my face down card is Meteorain!"_

**(Archer: 2150 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3200 – SPC: 12)**

"Make your final move Reina!" Archer shouted.

"Fine I'll summon Zero Gardna!" a small yellow and blue creature with a propeller sticking out of the back of its head carrying an enormous metal zero floated onto the field. (LV4/ATK 0/DEF 0) "I'll end my turn," she said.

"Dreadroot crush her Battle Fader!" the hulking God roared and threw its fist at the small Fiend.

"All activate my Zero Gardna's effect and release it so that you can't destroy my monsters and I take no battle damage this turn!" the creature flew into front of Battle Fader and it faded away leaving on the zero which blocked the punch.

"Make your final move!" Archer growled.

"Gladly and I'll start it off by activating my Speed Spell – Shift Draw this allows me to remove any number of Speed Counters from Speed World and for everyone two I remove I get to draw one card so I'll remove ten!" Reina slowed down and tore four cards off the top of her Deck.

**(Archer: 2150 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3200 – SPC: 2)**

"Now I'll activate my Windstorm of Etaqua so both your monsters move to defense!" a powerful wind struck the field causing both Archer's monsters to cover themselves with their wings.

"So what, even defending both my monsters are far stronger than anything you have!" Archer laughed.

"I'll summon my Synchron Exploder!" a large Machine monster with red spherical body with a hole in its chest jumped onto the field. (LV2/ATK 0/DEF 700) "Now its effect activate and I can Special Summon a Synchron monster from my Graveyard like Junk Synchron!" from the hole Junk Synchron jumped out. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 500)

"Next I'll activate Speed Spell – Gap Cyclone and since one of our Speed Counters is at least five higher than the other I can destroy one card on the field like your Nihilistic Revival!" a tornado flew across the field and shattered the Trap card causing the Dreadroot to howl in pain and explode. "Now I'm tuning my level three, Junk Synchron and my level two, Synchron Exploder!"

"_Cluster stars will awaken the dark fighter born to serve justice! Become the path light is born upon! Let's go, Synchro Summon Junk Warrior!"_

Junk Synchron pulled his ripcord and rocketed forward becoming three green rings. They surrounded Synchron Exploder reducing it to framework. From the light emerged Junk Warrior. (LV5/ATK 2300/DEF 1300) (LV10/ATK 0-2400/DEF 0-2400)

"Finally I'll activate Speed Spell – Warrior's Bond and since I just Special Summoned a Warrior type monster I can Special Summon one with a lower level from my Deck so come on out Zubaba Knight!" from the portal jumped the dual sword wielding Knight. (LV3/ATK 1600/DEF 900)

Archer's face turned white. "No you can't lose!" he cried.

"So you remember my monster's effect good because it means your Avatar is about to die go Zubaba Knight!" the golden armoured Warrior roared and flew forward. He sliced the Avatar in half.

Instead of shattering the monster started to random shift into various forms looking like mishmashes of other monsters. It took a form that looked similar to the Winged Dragon of Ra and then let out a piercing shriek before shattering.

"Well that was….something," Reina muttered. "Junk Warrior attack him directly and end this nightmare SCRAP FIST!" Junk Warrior roared and flew at Archer punching the front of his Runner.

**(Archer: 0 – SPC: 12) - (Reina: 3200 – SPC: 2)**

Archer screamed as he lost control of his bike. He spun and was thrown off. Reina skidded to a halt near him. "Archer are you alright?" she asked.

He stood up. The visor on helmet had been shattered and he seemed to be some what banged up. "I'm alive and after some rest I'll start over with one small difference," he said pulling a gun out and pointing it at Reina. "You'll be dead!"

Reina was shocked. She couldn't believe this was how she was going to die. Much to her surprise something started to appear behind Archer. "Archer you may want to look behind you," she said.

"That trick won't work on…," he started to say before being interrupted. An arm made of black mist appeared.

"**ARCHER!"** a voice boomed. **"You have failed and now I'm dragging you down to Hell with me!"** it laughed.

"No wait you want more souls I can get you them!" Archer cried. "Kill her she's the one who destroyed your body!"

"**Our deal was that if you provided me with enough souls to reform myself I would help you become a God but that has failed you were defeated and I cannot remain in this world much longer but if I must die so shall you!"** it snarled. Archer screamed as black flames started to envelope him.

"No this can't be how it ends I'm supposed to become a GOD!" he screamed.

Reina turned away but couldn't block out the terrified scream Archer made. After a few minutes Reina felt herself being shaken. "Reina what happened to Archer!"

Reina turned and saw it was Josh who was shaking her. "What happened?" she asked.

"You tell me I beat Miranda came in here heard some kind of inhuman scream Archer seems to be gone," he said.

"I think the final Wicked God killed Archer," Reina muttered.

"So it's finally over?" Josh asked. "But you can't be crowned Queen."

"Oh well even if nobody knows it the fact that I saved the world is good enough and we might want to call Trudge," Reina said before pulling out her cell phone.

Two days later at New Domino Hospital

Rob, Zeke and Vincent walked into a room with the name M. Yoshiro by the door and saw Melissa sitting up in her bed. "Hey you three how was the tournament and where's Reina?" she asked.

"It went…alright," Zeke said. "And Reina is talking to Security since she was the last person to see Archer before he disappeared."

"How are they going to explain that?" Vincent asked. "The guy left behind a scorch make and some cards but that's about it."

"They're telling the truth," Rob said.

"Will anyone believe it?" Melissa asked.

"Well considering how Goodwin turned out and the whole Divine Temple deal well I don't think people are going to be question what Security says," Zeke explained.

"So Mel how long until you get released from here?" Rob asked.

"The doctor said a couple of days," Melissa said rubbing the back of her head and grinning.

**Melissa: It feels good to be back.**

**Rob: How was your vacation?**

**Vincent: Does it matter it's not like any of us are getting time off anytime soon.**

**Josh and Alexandria: Well the first arc is over.**

**Reina: So what happens next?**

**Zeke: Well people will have to wait for arc two to begin.**

**Cast: The next chapter is called The New Scourge if you miss it you'll be sad. Also be on the look out for Phase Zero under the Yu-gi-oh! ZEXAL section.**

**Original Cards**

Seraphim Gardna

Light | Level 4 | Fairy/Effect | 1000/2000 | When this monster is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned or Special Summoned successfully; select either the ATK or DEF of this card and increase it by 300 points for every other Fairy-Type monster you control.

Seraphim Saber

Light | Level 4 | Fairy/Effect | 1600/1500 | When this monster is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned or Special Summoned successfully; select either the ATK or DEF of this card and increase it by 300 points for every other Fairy-Type monster you control.

Seraphim Blaster

Light | Level 4 | Fairy/Effect | 1800/1200 | When this monster is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned or Special Summoned successfully; select either the ATK or DEF of this card and increase it by 300 points for every other Fairy-Type monster you control.

(These cards were first used by Yako Tenma in Yu-gi-oh! R creative credit goes to the writers of that manga.)

Powerful Rebirth

Image: Dark King of the Abyss bursting out of the ground with a red glow below him.

| Continuous Trap | Select 1 Level 4 or lower monster in your Graveyard, and Special Summon it. It gains 100 ATK and DEF, and its Level is increased by 1. When this card leaves the field, destroy that monster. When that monster leaves the field, destroy this card. During each of your Standby Phases, take 1000 damage.

(This card was first used by Jack Atlas during episode 25 of Yu-gi-oh! 5D's creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Angelic Call

Image: A spectral version of Dunames Dark Witch protecting The Agent of Force – Mars and The Agent of Creation – Venus from a blast of flames from Fiend Skull Dragon.

| Trap | When your opponent declares an attack you may Special Summon a level four or lower Fairy type monster from your hand. You may discard a Fairy type monster from your hand to end the Battle Phase.

Cherubim Knight

Light | Level 2 | Fairy/Effect | 800/600 | If you control two or more face up Fairy type monsters you may Special Summon this card from your hand.

Speed Spell – Fiendish Burst

Image: Several bolts of black lightning flying off Sillva, Warlord of Dark World and striking an unseen duelist on a Duel Runner.

| Quick-Play Spell | Activate only while you have 5 or more Speed Counters. When a Dark attribute Fiend type monster you control destroys a monster your opponent controls inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to 200x the destroyed monster's level.

Seraphim Berserker

Light | Level 4 | Fairy | 2000/400 | A once mighty Fairy warrior but as he fought the Fiends his mind was slowly lost until nothing remained but the will to keep fighting.

Cherubim Defender

Light | Level 3 | Fairy/Effect | 800/1700 | If you are attacked directly after a Fairy type monster you control is destroyed you may discard this card to reduce the damage from that direct attack to zero.

Speed Spell – Accelerator Draw

Image: A duelist surrounded by flowing wind pulling two glowing cards off their Deck.

| Spell | Activate only while you have 12 Speed Counters. Draw 2 cards

(This card was first used by Hunter Pace/Mukuro Enjo during Yu-gi-oh! 5D's episode 17 creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Cherubim Booster

Light | Level 3 | Fairy/Tuner | 1300/800 | When you Normal Summon a Fairy type monster you may Special Summon this card from your hand.

Archangel Barachiel

Light | Level 5 | Fairy/Synchro/Effect | 2300/1300 | 1 Light Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Light monsters. When this card is Synchro Summoned selected on Fairy type monster other than this card and this card gains half the original attack points of the selected Fairy type monster. (If the selected monster is removed from the field this card's attack points return to normal.)

Cherubim Gardna

Light | Level 1 | Fairy/Tuner | 300/300 | If a Fairy type monster you control would be destroyed by battle you may release this card to negate that card's destruction.

Archangel Michael

Light | Level 10 | Fairy/Synchro/Effect | 3300/3000 | 1 Tuner + 2 or more non-Tuner Fairy monsters. This card cannot be destroyed by Spell or Trap cards that do not target.

Synchro Spirits

Image: Junk Synchro and White Magician Pikeru surrounded by blue light with Junk Warrior behind them.

| Trap | Select 1 Synchro Monster in your Graveyard and remove it from play. Then, if all the monsters that were used for the Synchro Summon of that monster are in your Graveyard, you can Special Summon them.

Speed Spell – Shift Draw

Image: Several lights on the dash of Duel Runner going out.

| Spell | Remove any number of your Speed Counters and for every two removed draw one card.

Speed Spell – Warrior's Bond

Image: Junk Warrior and Turbo Warrior preparing to attack Red Nova Dragon.

| Spell | Activate when you have 2 or more Speed Counters. When you Special Summon a Warrior type monster you may Special Summon a Warrior type monster from your Deck with a lower level.


	40. Ch40: A New Scourge

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Forty: The New Scourge

Two days had passed since Reina had been interviewed by Security. It was announced Archer had been in league with demons and that the tournament had been nothing more than a means for him to collect souls. For Reina this meant she definitely wouldn't be crowned Dueling Queen.

But since then she, Josh and Zeke had been challenged almost constantly. "This is one of those times I wish summer break would hurry up and end," she sighed.

Right now she was facing someone she'd faced a few times in the past. Hunter Pace the man her father had faced in the first round of the Fortune Cup after he disguised himself as Shira. Right now he was winning with 3000 Life Points two face down cards and his ace monster Supersonic Skull Flame a Zombie centaur with a mane of burning hair and a tattered robe. (LV10/ATK 2600/DEF 2000)

Reina had 1400 Life Points and three face down cards. "Well you've really improved Hunter," Reina grinned.

"Thanks little lady," he said. "You're not doing to bad yourself."

"Heh I won't be losing," the Plant duelist grinned.

"Skull Flame's effect activates and since I have two Burning Skull Heads in my Graveyard you take 800 points of damage!" the Zombie centaur threw two balls of fire shaped like skulls at Reina.

"Reveal face down Hallowed Life Barrier!" Reina cried throwing a card into her Graveyard. Three women in blue cloaks appeared and blocked the fire. "So I take no damage from your cards this turn."

"Not bad," Hunter grinned. "Alright I'm setting a card face down and calling it a turn."

"I activate Monster Reborn to revive someone you should remember!" the ankh appeared above Reina and Black Rose Dragon flew out.

"She looks angry," Hunter gulped.

"Well you did toast her but don't worry she doesn't hold a grudge," Reina chuckled. "Next I'm activating Block Attack so your Skull Flame is moved to defense mode!" the game controller appeared and struck the centaur forcing it to cover itself with its arms.

Reina grinned. "Let me guess Hunter that face down is Burial from a Different Dimension and the moment I declare an attack you'll activate it and place your Skull Flame back in your Graveyard so that when Supersonic Skull Flame bites it you get it back right?"

Hunter didn't answer right away and just cocked an eyebrow. "Ok what if that is what I'm planning it's a Quick-Play Spell so you can't stop me from activating it."

"True but I can drop your Life Points down to zero this turn!" Reina announced.

"Go ahead and try I'll even activate my face down right now!" it was indeed Burial from a Different Dimension. "This allows me to return up to three cards from either removed from play zone back to the Graveyard and I'll go with my Skull Flame," he said before dropping the chosen card back into his Graveyard.

"I'm activating DNA Surgery and I'll name Plants," one of Reina's face downs flipped open and a double helix floated out and started to spin. Black Rose Dragon didn't change at all she already looked like a Plant. Skull Flame on the other hand his skin turned to bark and his hair turned to leaves his robe turned dark green.

"I'm guessing you're wondering why I did that," Reina said. "Well I'm going to activate Black Rose Dragon's effect and remove my Botanical Lion to force your Skull Flame into attack mode and weaken it," Black Rose Dragon's vines flew forward and yanked the former Zombie forward. (LV10/ATK 2600-0/DEF 2000)

"Destroy it with Black Rose Flare!" Reina's ace of this Deck roared and spewed a blast of burst flames incinerating Hunter's monster and dropping his Life Points down to 600. "And now reverse card open Blossom Bombardment!" a whirlwind of petals surrounded Hunter.

"Hey what's going on?" he asked.

"Well when a Plant type monster toasts one of your monsters you take damage equal to your monster's original attack points," the petals started to explode and Hunter shielded himself as his Life Points dropped to zero.

He walked over to Reina and shook her hand. "Good job Reina it's always fun dueling you and I didn't realize my moves had gotten old."

"It was fun and it's not so much old so much as I've seen just about every card in your Deck," Reina grinned.

"I guess it's time I changed it up a little," the Skull duelist said rubbing the back of his head. He got on his bike and drove away after bidding her a farewell. Reina wiped her forehead, it was hot. She walked over to a nearby vending machine and bought a bottle of water, she quickly guzzled it.

She sat down on a bench and sighed. Her friends were busy and she couldn't think of anything to do. Due to a leak where she worked was closed down until repairs could be made

Someone approached her. "Hello you're Reina Fudo right?" he asked. He looked like he was in his late teens or maybe early twenties. But his hair and eyes were grey he wore a t-shirt with a weird symbol on his chest and a pair of jeans and he spoke with a strange accent.

She noticed his Duel Disk and grinned. "I take it you want to challenge me?" she asked and he nodded. "Alright I'll accept."

"Well thank you my name is Sortiris," he said activating his Duel Disk.

"Weird name," Reina said.

"I get that a lot," he chuckled.

"So where do you hail from?" Reina asked pressing the auto shuffler button.

"Well I was born in Greece but my family moved to Japan when I was little I'm currently attending Domino U so for me dueling is more of a fun pastime but I thought challenging you would be something to do," he explained.

"Alright bring it on!" Reina declared.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

**(Reina: 8000) - (Sortiris: 8000)**

"You can go first," Reina offered.

"Well thank you and I'll start by summoning Light Swordsman!" in a burst of light appeared a Warrior dressed in futuristic white and silver armour holding a regular Chinese Dao with a cloth with a strange mark on it. (ATK 1700/DEF 1100)

"Then I'll set a card face down and end my turn by activating Soul Absorption so now anytime a card is removed from play I gain 500 Life Points," he explained.

"_Crap that means some of my cards will help him, great,"_ Reina thought.

"I'll set a monster and one card face down and then I'll end my turn," Reina said.

"I'll release my Swordsman to call out Dark Stinger!" the Warrior bowed his head and vanished. A large mechanical beast that looked like a scorpion covered in glossy black armour only with gun barrels in its claws and a cannon on the end of its tail. (LV5/ATK 2100/DEF 1700)

"I'm guessing it has an effect?" Reina asked.

"Correct this is also a device built by the Dark Tribe the Light Tribe's mortal enemy," Sortiris said. "They were in a never ending war and eventually built machines that could feed off not only their power but their enemies power as well to demonstrate I'll activate my Light Swordsman's effect and since he was used in the Advance Summon a Light or Dark attribute monster the summoned monster has its attack points boosted by 400!" a spectral version of Light Swordsman appeared and was sucked into the Machine. (LV5/ATK 2100-2500/DEF 1700)

"And of course we can't forget about my Soul Absorption," the Light and Dark duelist grinned.

**(Reina: 8000) - (Sortiris: 8500)**

"Destroy her face down monster!" the scorpion blasted the face down card with its cannons blowing away a three headed rose with eyes in the center of each flower. "Now my Stinger's first effect activates and you take damage equal to your monster's level x100."

The Machine launched several small bombs at Reina they exploded releasing a cloud of purple mist causing her to cough.

**(Reina: 7600) - (Sortiris: 8500)**

"I'll end my turn," Sortiris said.

"I activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and she seemed to be glaring at Reina's opponent. She gave the angel a confused looked and handed her two cards. "Next I'll summon Debris Dragon!" the juvenile Stardust Dragon flew onto the field and growled. (LV4/ATK 1000/DEF 2000)

"I take it you're going to summon something you ditched with Graceful Charity?" Sortiris asked.

"Yep I can revive a monster with 500 or less attack points but its effect is negated so I'm bringing back my Dark Verger!" Debris Dragon gestured and from the ground grew the skinny Plant with two leaves with eyes on them. (LV2/ATK 0/DEF 1000)

"What can you summon I can't really think of a level six Dragon monster that fits that well in a Plant Deck," the Light and Dark duelist said.

"You'll see because I'm tuning my level four, Debris Dragon and my level two, Dark Verger…," Reina began.

"_Clustering seeds will grow to form the mightiest force in the Plant Empire! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon, grow Ivy Dragon!"_

Debris Dragon roared and transformed into four green rings. They surrounded Dark Verger turning it transparent. The rings and starts flew downward into the ground and seconds later a mass of vines burst out of the ground and took the shape of a Dragon made entirely out of vines and leaves with glowing red eyes and no wings. (LV6/ATK 2500/DEF 1500)

"I'll activate my Dragon's effect and remove a Plant type monster in my Graveyard and then I can move one of your monsters to defense mode," Dark Verger fell out of Reina's Grave and she slipped it into her pocket. Ivy Dragon's eyes started to glow and several vines burst out bellow Dark Stinger pinning it down.

**(Reina: 7600) - (Sortiris: 9000)**

"Ivy Dragon destroy his monster with Poison Flame!" the leafy Dragon spewed a noxious blast of purple flames that metalled the Machine to a puddle of goo. "Reverse card open Blossom Bombardment!" Reina cried and a storm of petal surrounded Sortiris.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"Well my Ivy Dragon has another effect it's treated as a Plant while it's on the field so I could activate my Trap card and since she destroyed and sent one of your monsters to the Graveyard you take damage equal to your Stinger's original attack points!" the petals exploded causing Sortiris to stumble back.

**(Reina: 7600) - (Sortiris: 6900)**

"That's all well and good but now I activate my Balance of Light and Darkness!" the card showed Light End and Dark End Dragon on opposite sides of a split screen. "It allows me to Special Summon a Light or Dark monster from my Deck depending on what was destroyed so long as its level is equal to or lower than the destroyed monster so come on our Light Guard in defense mode!" the monster that appeared wore silver and white robes with the hood pulled over their head they were shielding themselves with a spear. (LV4/ATK 1400/DEF 1700)

"And my Stinger's other effect activates and all removed cards are returned to their owner's Graveyard," he said.

"Alright I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina said as a card appeared behind Ivy Dragon.

"I'll set a monster and that's all," Sortiris said.

"_Great he's likely going to use those two to summon something big and I can hazard a guess,"_ Reina thought. "I'll summon my Gigantic Cephalotus!" the enormous walking pitcher Plant stomped onto the field and growled at the Light and Dark duelist. (LV4/ATK 1850/DEF 700)

"Ivy Dragon melt his Guard!" the pseudo Plant breathed another stream of poisonous fire causing Light Guard to scream as they dissolved.

"I'll use my Trap card to call out Dark Sniper!" the Trap glowed and a woman in futuristic grey and black armour with a visor over her eyes appeared on the field, Reina cocked an eyebrow at her lack of a weapon. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1600)

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina said.

"I'll release my face down Light Technician and my Dark Sniper to call out Light Hunter!" both monsters vanished and in their place appeared another robot though it was more humanoid. This one stood about ten feet tall with a silver and white body its claws looked more like swords along with a small turret on its chest and a single blue optic. (LV7/ATK 2600/DEF 2000)

"Now I'll activate my Technician and my Sniper's effects and remove them from play!" the cards slid out of his Graveyard as he started to glow.

**(Reina: 7600) - (Sortiris: 7900)**

"My Technician gives my Hunter powers similar to most of the Ancient Gear monsters and well you'll see my Sniper's effect in a moment Hunter destroy her Dragon!" the Machine's eye turned from blue to red and it slashed Ivy Dragon causing the Synchro to roar in pain and shatter. Seconds later Reina clutched her chest in pain what's going on.

"That would be my Sniper's effect whenever my Hunter destroys one of your monsters you take 900 points of damage," Sortiris explained.

**(Reina: 6600) - (Sortiris: 7900)**

"That's not why I meant," Reina hissed. "That felt like I'd actually been struck in the chest who are you!"

"I'll explain but you may want to activate your Revival Rose's effect," the Light and Dark duelist said.

"Fine since you destroyed a level five or higher Plant type monster I can Special Summon my Revival Rose!" the triple eyed Plant grew out of the ground and shielded itself with its leaves. "Now explain!"

"Alright I guess I'll start from the beginning," he said. "I'm not human that's for sure."

"Then what are you?" the Plant duelist asked.

"I can't remember," he chuckled. "But I remember one thing we were very similar to demons maybe we were even some kind of offshoot, we lived in our own little pocket dimension that was tied to your world, we tempted humans with whatever they wanted but once we gave them what they wanted we enslaved them and if they wanted a person they were enslaved too."

"That's horrible," Reina gasped.

"True but I don't really care," he shrugged. "I did something so horrible that our elders forced me into exile they also destroyed parts of my memory I couldn't remember my name, my family, where our dimension was or what I was I bothered me but I decided to get my revenge on them."

"What could you have done?" Reina wondered.

"I slaughtered several of our nobles," Sortiris laughed. "So I hunted down several other members of my species and forced the information out of them then I wiped every last one of them out!"

"But that wasn't enough for me no I had grand plans for your world. I built up a kingdom of loyal followers but somehow word of my plans got out an a large army of Greek forces confronted my army."

"Wait when did it happen?" Reina asked.

"Sometime before the death of the man you call Alexander the Great," he said. "I was confronted by their leader and challenged to a Darkness Game for my species that was as simple as breathing. The battle lasted for hours both of us were exhausted and I thought I had the upper hand but he called out a powerful beast it destroyed my most powerful beast easily and left me too tired to move. My army was dead maybe some had escaped it didn't matter to me because they sealed me away and left me to rot. I spent centuries hammering on my seal hoping it would do something anything and it paid off I was eventually able to contact the outside world and start anew with one slight snag."

"You still couldn't figure out how to get out," Reina said.

"Yes and it drove me mad!" he roared. "I continued to try and damage my seal and I had my followers move it somewhere else it wasn't hard it was attached to an object."

"Wait you didn't try having them just break the thing?" Reina asked.

"Of course I did!" Sortiris snarled. "The seal made it far stronger than any other stone block but now it was being damaged on both sides and after several decades they were able to damage it enough that things could be sent through to me and I would us those things when I rested and I had to the seal could strike back at me if I struck it that's how I learned Modern Japanese."

"Wait why Japanese," Reina questioned.

"I found their ways of life more interesting than any other so I decided to learn about it that was also how I found out about Duel Monsters but that was well for me only recently. About two days ago I finally managed to break out of my seal though it left me very weak. So I came here to have some fun and test my dueling skill against someone I just happened to run into you."

"Wait so why did this duel turn into a Darkness Game and why should I even believe you?" Reina demanded.

"As I said I'm very weak even weaker than I thought until I regain my strength every duel I'm in will become a weakened Darkness Game so that all cards become real as for believing me you don't have to I could be lying through my teeth and I can't show you my natural form I'm trapped in this human form," he explained. "In fact you don't even have to finish this duel, but I'm not ready to return to my residence so I may end up challenging someone with less experience than you when it comes to a Darkness Game."

Reina grit her teeth. "Fine let's finish this and because a Plant went from the field to the Grave my Cephalotus gains 200 attack points!" (LV4/ATK 1850-2050/DEF 700)

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," he said.

"I'll move my Cephalotus to defense mode and end my turn with a face down," Reina said.

Just as Sortiris drew a card one of Reina's face downs flipped up. "Reveal Threatening Roar so you're not allowed to attack this turn!" a thunderous roar echoed across the field and the Hunter took a step back.

"Alright I'll just set a monster and that'll be all," Sortiris shrugged.

"I'll return my Revival Rose to my hand to call out Fallen Angel of Roses!" the three eyed Plant was blown off the field by a blast of wind and something floated down from behind Reina. She had a pair of black wings sprouting from her back and wore a black leather outfit over her pale skin and she carried a thorny whip in her hand. (LV7/ATK 2400/DEF 1300)

"Well she looks like someone I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley or a well lit one," Sortiris chuckled.

"Next I'm activating Rush Recklessly to give my Angel a power boost!" a fiery red aura started to burn around the Angel. (LV7/ATK 2400-3100/DEF 1300) "Destroy his Hunter with Thorn Lash and I'll chain Malevolent Catastrophe!" the sky turned black and strong wind struck the field annihilating both players Spell and Trap cards.

"Since I declared an attack this card destroys every Spell and Trap card on the field and for me that's a good thing because my other set card was Plant Spirit so I'll bring back the other card I discarded with Graceful Charity my Cactus Fighter!" the ground burst open and a humanoid figure with green skin and spikes on its head jumped out. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 400)

The whip impaled the Hunter causing it to spark and explode. "Cactus Fighter destroy his face down!" the spiked Plant few forward and punched a girl wearing a black and grey tunic and a pair of goggles over her eyes. "That was my Dark Scout so now I get Light Scout in defense mode!" a boy dressed almost exactly like Dark Scout only his tunic was silver and white. (LV2/ATK 900/DEF 900)

"Well since my Cactus Fighter destroyed one of your monsters you get a Needle Token in defense mode," where Dark Scout had been a small cactus grew. (LV1/ATK 500/DEF 500)

"Cephalotus destroy Light Scout!" the pitcher plant growled and crushed the boy in its jaws.

"Unfortunately I only have those two," Sortiris said.

"I'll activate Spellbook Inside the Pot," the Pot of Greed appeared in the center of the field and both drew three times. "Well look at this I just drew my Fragrance Storm and it'll let me destroy a Plant on the field to draw once."

"So you're going to destroy one of your monsters?" the Light and Dark duelist asked.

"No yours!" the Needle Token exploded in pixels and Reina pulled a card off the top of her Deck. "It's not a Plant so I can't draw again but I'll end my turn with a face down." (LV7/ATK 3100-2400/DEF 1300)

"I'll set a monster and then a face down card," Sortiris said.

"Cephalotus attack his hidden monster!" the massive Plant crushed the face down monster under its foot revealing an old man dressed in white and black.

"Wait who was that?" Reina asked.

"That was my Sage of Chaos when he's destroyed I get to add either a Light or a Dark monster from my Deck to my hand but if I want to play it next turn I have to remove him from play when I summon it," Sortiris explained as a card popped out of his Deck.

"Alright Fallen Angel Cactus Fighter attack him directly!" Cactus Fighter flew at Sortiris and the Angel struck him with her whip.

"Reverse card open Damage Diet so for this turn all damage to me is halved!" two hands attached to colourful springs slowed down the two attacks just before they hit the demon.

**(Reina: 6600) - (Sortiris: 5750)**

"Alright I'll end my turn," Reina sighed.

"I'll start my turn by activating Anti-Negation Field!" crackling blue energy started to cover both sides of the field. "As long as this card remains in play neither of us can negate that other's cards."

"You can't mean…?" Reina gasped.

"I activate one of the effects of my Hunter and remove it from play to return all removed cards to my Graveyard!" he took the cards in his pocket and dropped them into his Graveyard. "I'll follow that up with Junk Dealer it lets me Special Summon two monsters back from my Graveyard but their attack points are halved to return Light Swordsman and Dark Sniper!" the two monsters jumped onto the field and glared at each other. (LV4/ATK 1700-850/DEF 1100) (LV4/ATK 1800-900/DEF 1600)

"I'll release them both and remove my Sage to call out what was once my strongest beast the one that was defeated all those centuries ago reawaken my servant Light and Darkness Dragon!" the two monsters turned into a ball of light and darkness and fused together. The sphere started to crack and then shattered revealing a Dragon that looked like it was really two merged together. The right half was white with a feathered wing its left was black with a webbed wing. (LV8/ATK 2800/DEF 2400)

"Oh crap," Reina said stepping back.

"Majestic isn't it," Sortiris grinned. "And thanks to my Spell card I can remove both my monsters from play to power up my Dragon!" the spirits of Dark Sniper and Light Swordsman appeared and fused with the dual Dragon. (LV8/ATK 2800-3200/DEF 2400)

"Vaporize her Fallen Angel with Dark Baptism!" the Dragon breathed a beam of pure darkness atomizing the winged Plant before she could even scream. "And don't forget about my Sniper's effect."

Reina gasped and clutched her chest as she started to sweat.

**(Reina: 4900) - (Sortiris: 5750)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Sortiris said. "Why didn't you Cephalotus gain attack points?"

"Because of the way I summoned my Fallen Angel she's removed from play when she leaves the field," Reina explained.

"I'll move my monster's to defense mode and set a card face down and end my turn," Reina said.

"Light and Darkness Dragon destroy her Cephalotus with Shining Breath!" the Dragon prepared to breath a beam of pure light.

"Reveal face down card No Entry!" one Reina's face downs flipped up and both Sortiris' monsters shielded themselves. "Now all attack mode monsters are moved to defense mode."

"Fine I'll end my turn," Sortiris said.

"Next I'll activate Monster Reborn to bring back my Ivy Dragon!" the ankh appeared above Reina and the leafy Dragon flew out.

"Next I'll summon Fleur Synchron!" a small flower bud with a face near the bottom jumped onto the field with a laugh (LV2/ATK 400/DEF 200)

"Ivy Dragon destroy Light and Darkness Dragon!" the Plant Dragon breathed a stream of poisonous flames melting the dual Dragon into a puddle of goo.

"Now my monster's effect activates but I'll chain Burial from a Different Dimension and it allows….," he started to say.

"I know what I does you're probably going to use it to return your Light Hunter back to your Graveyard then summon it with your Dragon's effect," Reina interrupted.

"That's true," Sortiris said as all of his cards on the field were swallowed by a blast of light and dark energy. When it cleared Light Hunter had appeared and was glaring at Reina. "How do you plan on beating it?"

"With this go Urgent Tuning now I can Synchro Summon during the Battle Phase so I'm tuning my level two, Fleur Synchron and my level six, Ivy Dragon….," Reina began.

"_These clustering stars will travel faster than the speed of light down the path of change! Become the path light is born upon! Synchron Summon appear now Chevalier de Fleur!"_

Fleur Synchron grinned even wider as two green rings flew out of the top of it. They circled around Ivy Dragon turning her to orange framework. From the light appeared a Warrior covered from head to toe in silver armour with a pink flower attached to the top of her helmet. (LV8/ATK 2700/DEF 2300) (LV4/ATK 2050-2250/DEF 700) "I would be able to summon a level two or lower monster thanks to my Fleur Synchron but I'm kind of lacking one," Reina explained.

"Chevalier destroy his Hunter!" the knight flew forward and slashed the Machine with her sword causing it to spark and explode.

**(Reina: 4900) - (Sortiris: 5650)**

"Cactus Fighter, Cephalotus get him!" both Plants flew but a woman with silver hair wearing a white and black robe appeared. She raised her hands and both Reina's monsters stopped and walked back over to her side. "Wait what just happened."

"I discarded my Mediator of Chaos since a Light or Dark monster went to the Graveyard and I was about to be attacked directly the Battle Phase ends," Sortiris explained.

"Alright I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina sighed.

"I summon Dark Samurai!" a Warrior wearing black and grey futuristic armour jumped on to the field and drew her sword. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1500)

"Then I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," the Light and Dark duelist said.

"Cephalotus destroy his Samurai!" the massive pitcher plant roared and rushed forward.

"Reveal face down card Negate Attack!" a swirling vortex blocked Cephalotus' attack.

"I'll end my turn by setting a monster face down," Reina said.

"I release my Samurai to call out Light Devourer!" the Samurai vanished and in her place rose a large white and silver Machine with an elongated face and a mouth filled with sharp teeth and a small glass dome on its forehead. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 1300) "First I'll remove my Samurai to call activate her effect which allows my monster to attack twice in a row during the same Battle Phase."

"And that's not all I'll pay 500 Life Points to activate my Devourer's effect," both the Machine and its master started to glow red.

**(Reina: 4900) - (Sortiris: 5150)**

"Now I'll name an attribute and if my Devourer battles a monster that attribute it'll lose 600 attack points until the end of the damage step so I name wind!" the dome lit up so that it was green. "Destroy her Chevalier!" (LV8/ATK 2700-2100/DEF 2300) the mechanical beast flew forward and crushed the knight in its jaws.

**(Reina: 4600) - (Sortiris: 5150)**

"Next it's your Cephalotus' turn!" the beast slashed the pitcher plant with its claws shredding it.

**(Reina: 4450) - (Sortiris: 5150)**

"I'll end my turn," he said with a sneer.

"I'll move Cactus Fighter to defense mode then I'll end my turn," Reina said.

"I'll activate All Consuming Light!" a Spell appeared that showed Elemental Hero Neos and Jaden Yuki being blasted by a large wave of light. "Here's how it works if a Light monster I control destroys a monster you control half of its attack points will come out of your Life Points."

"Crap," Reina muttered.

"Devourer attack both her monsters!" the bestial Machine slashed Cactus Fighter and Reina's face down which was revealed to be Revival Rose to pieces. Reina hissed as she was surrounded by a burning white aura.

**(Reina: 2850) - (Sortiris: 5150)**

"According to the person I got that card from it was created by a servant of the Light of Destruction who wanted revenge on Jaden but failed to get it oh well," Sortiris laughed.

"So wouldn't using that card carry the risk of calling that thing to Earth," Reina growled.

"Possibly I don't really care," the demon shrugged. "I'll end my turn."

"Come on Deck I need something," she muttered as she tore a card off the top of her Deck. "I'll set a monster face down and end my turn with a face down."

"I'll activate Emergency Provisions and since my Negation Field isn't helping me anymore I'll get rid of it," the Spell dissolved into motes of light that surrounded the demon.

**(Reina: 2850) - (Sortiris: 6150)**

"Devourer destroy her face down monster!" the bestial Machine roared and crushed the face down monster in its jaws.

"Thanks that was my Lord Poison so I can bring back any Plant except Lord Poison like Cactus Fighter in attack mode!" the ground burst open and the spiky humanoid Plant appeared and threw a few warm up jabs.

"No matter destroy her Fighter!" the long faced Machine flew at Cactus Fighter.

"Reverse card open Negate Attack!" the swirling barrier appeared blocking the Machine's attack.

"Oh well I'll end my turn," Sortiris sighed.

"I summon Dandylion!" the more cartoonish lion with a flower mane jumped onto the field and growled at Sortiris. (LV3/ATK 300/DEF 300) "Next I'll activate Limit Reverse to bring back Debris Dragon!" the miniature Stardust Dragon appeared with a roar.

"Finally I'll use Enemy Controller to force your Devourer to kneel!" the game controller appeared and the white Machine shielded itself. "Now I'll tune my level four, Debris Dragon and my level three, Dandylion…!"

"_Clustering wishes will ignite to create a fiery new force! Become the path light is born upon! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"_

Debris Dragon flew into the air and transformed into four green rings. They surrounded Dandylion turning it transparent. Black Rose Dragon descended onto the field and roared. (LV7/ATK 2400/DEF 1800)

"First Dandylion's effect activate and I get two Fluff Tokens," two ball of fluff with steams appeared next to Black Rose Dragon. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0) "Then I'll activate Black Rose Dragon's effect and force your thing into attack mode and drop it's attack points down to zero and all I have to do is remove my Cephalotus," the card fell out of her Graveyard and Black Rose Dragon used her vines to pull the Machine to it's feet. (LV6/ATK 2400-0/DEF 1300)

"Black Rose Dragon turn his monster to slag!" the petal covered Dragon breathed her signature attack causing the Machine to scream as it metalled to slag.

**(Reina: 2850) - (Sortiris: 3750)**

"I activate my Trap card a second Balance of Light and Darkness!" the Trap card flipped up and Reina growled. "I'll summon Dark Priestess in defense mode!" a woman dressed in black and grey robes that resembled a miko's appeared and shielded herself with her arms. (LV3/ATK 1200/DEF 1600)

"Alright Cactus Fighter destroy her!" the Plant man punched the Priestess in the gut causing her to shatter like glass.

"Alright I'll call out my Light Swordswoman in attack mode!" the next monster looked similar to Light Swordsman only she had slightly longer hair and carried a much larger sword possibly a claymore. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 1000) Seconds later another mini cactus grew on Sortiris' side.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Reina sighed.

"I'll set a monster and end my turn," Sortiris said.

"Black Rose Dragon destroy Light Swordswoman!" Black Rose Dragon breathed her Black Rose Flare incinerating the monster.

**(Reina: 2850) - (Sortiris: 2650)**

"I'll call out my Dark Spy in defense mode," the monster that appeared was dressed in a black and grey cloak with the hood pulled over their head hiding their face. (LV3/ATK 1100/DEF 900)

"Cactus Fighter destroy his Spy!" the Plant socked the cloaked monster in the face shattering them into pixels. A second later another cactus sprouted out of the ground.

"I'll call out Light Spy in attack mode," Sortiris said as a monster dressed almost exactly like Dark Spy only their cloak was white and silver appeared. (LV3/ATK 900/DEF 1100)

"I'll end my turn by activating Token Thanksgiving so now I can destroy all Tokens on the field and gain 800 Life Points per token," the two cacti and two balls of fluff shattered into motes of light that surrounded Reina.

**(Reina: 6050) - (Sortiris: 2650)**

Sortiris drew and grinned. "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back my Dark Spy!" the ankh appeared and the black cloaked spy jumped out and turned to Light Spy most likely glaring. "Then I'll flip my Light Cannoneer face up!" a man dressed in a white and silver uniform that looked vaguely like it was from some kind of military appeared. (LV4/ATK 1750/DEF 1600)

"Reina do you remember how I called Light and Darkness Dragon was once my strongest beast well you're about to meet my strongest beast," Sortiris said.

"Bring it," Reina challenged.

"Gladly and I'll release my three monsters!" the two Light monsters and one Dark monster dissolved into motes of black and white light forming a large sphere above the field.

"_A triple sacrifice this will be bad,"_ Reina thought.

"Awaken from your slumber my mightiest beast the embodiment of the beginning and the end my alpha and omega! Chaos Dragon! The sphere started to glow and reshaped itself into a somewhat mechanical looking Dragon. Like Light and Darkness Dragon it was half black and half white. It had six wings three white and three black the white ones were bat like and the black ones feathered. Its body was serpentine and energy crackled around it. (LV9/ATK 3000/DEF 2800)

"Whoa," Reina gasped.

"Yes meet my ultimate beast a being of pure chaos much like the two Envoys and Chaos Sorcerer but this creature's effect is much different because I can release three Light or Dark attribute monsters to summon it and if I do so every single card on your side of the field is wiped out and for each card destroyed I draw one card so I'll be getting three!" the Dragon breathed a stream of light and dark energy vaporizing everything on Reina's side of the field. Sortiris quickly pulled three cards off his Deck.

"And I'll remove the three monster's I used to summon it to have it gain the effects they grant," the three cards fell out of his Graveyard and the Dragon started to glow.

"Attack her directly with Chaos Stream of Annihilation!" the Dragon roared and breathed a much more powerful stream of energy. Reina screamed as it smashed into her sending her skidding back.

**(Reina: 3050) - (Sortiris: 2650)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Sortiris said.

"I'll set a monster face down and end my turn," Reina said.

"I activate Meteorain so my Dragon will inflict piercing damage until the End Phase!" a burning red meteor appeared above the Dragon. "Annihilate her face down monster!" the Dragon unleashed its destructive attack destroying Reina's face down monster.

**(Reina: 1050) - (Sortiris: 2650)**

"That was my second Lord Poison so I'll bring back Cactus Fighter again," the humanoid cactus appeared again glaring at Sortiris.

"I'll end my turn and I wouldn't recommend trying to destroy my with card effects because thanks to my Spies well Spells and Traps won't work as long as I have Dark and Light monsters in my Graveyard," Sortiris explained.

"I activate Call of the Haunted to revive my Ivy Dragon!" the ground burst open and Ivy Dragon crawled out of the ground. "Next I'll activate Premature Burial to bring back Black Rose Dragon!" Black Rose Dragon burst out of the ground and snarled at Sortiris.

**(Reina: 250) - (Sortiris: 2650)**

"I activate Trap Stun to negate the effect of all Trap cards until the End Phase," Call of the Haunted and Balance of Light and Darkness sparked and turned grey. "I activate Ivy Dragon's effect and remove Lord Poison to force your Dragon into defense mode!" vines burst out of the ground and pulled the Dragon down.

"Then I'll activate Black Rose Dragon's effect and remove Dandylion to force your Dragon back into attack mode with its attack points reduced to zero!" Black Rose Dragon pulled the mechanical looking Dragon up so that it was ready to fight. (LV9/ATK 3000-0/DEF 2800)

"Black Rose Dragon destroy it Black Rose Flare!" Black Rose Dragon spewed purple flames striking the Dragon causing it to scream and shatter.

**(Reina: 250) - (Sortiris: 250)**

"Ivy Dragon attack him directly with Poison Flame!" the leafy Dragon breathed its noxious flames. Sortiris grunted and stumbled back.

**(Reina: 250) - (Sortiris: 0)**

"You won good for you," Sortiris said. "That was fun Reina thank you very much. But I must be going," he gestured and a swirling portal appeared behind him. He turned around and was about to step in when four vines grabbed his wrists and ankles.

"No you're not going anywhere until you answer my questions," Reina growled. "What are you planning to do and how did you kill your whole species?"

Sortiris laughed. "What if I refuse to tell you are you going to kill me?"

Reina scowled she had hoped he'd spill his guts. He may have been evil but killing someone just seemed wrong to her there was a single exception she might make but hopefully that would never come up.

"You will release the master right now," a deep voice said.

Reina turned slightly and saw a man dressed in armour like Great Shogun Shien though his lacked the cape and he wore an oni mask. He was holding a sword close to Reina's neck. "If you don't I will cut off your head," he said.

"Alright," Reina muttered. She took Ivy Dragon off her Duel Disk and the vines vanished.

The man walked over to Sortiris. "Thank you for the help Burei," the demon said. He turned to Reina and sneered. "Reina tell your friends I'll be seeing them soon though they might not see me until it's too late." Both of them walked into the portal and it closed a second later.

Reina snapped back to reality and immediately pulled out her cell phone.

**Reina: Well arc two has begun.**

**Zeke: And the new villain has already showed himself in person to one of us.**

**Rob: He's a lot more active than Archer.**

**Josh: What was with the threat?**

**Melissa: I don't like it I really didn't want to have to deal with evil forces again.**

**Alexandria: Don't miss Ruinous Force or you'll be sad.**

**Vincent: Don't I get to say anything?**

**Original Cards**

Light Swordsman

Light | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1700/1100 | If this card is used for the Advance Summon of a Dark or Light Attribute monster you can remove this card from your Graveyard to have the summoned monster gain the following effect.

* Increase the summoned monster's attack points by 400.

Dark Stinger

Dark | Level 5 | Machine/Effect | 2100/1700 | When this card destroys an opponent's monster they take damage equal to the destroyed monster's level x100. When this card is destroyed by battle return all removed from play cards to their owner's Graveyard.

Ivy Dragon

Earth | Level 6 | Dragon/Synchro/Effect | 2500/1500 | 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Plant type monster. While this card is face up on the field it is also treated as a Plant type monster. Once per turn you may remove a Plant type monster from your Graveyard to change one monster you opponent controls to face up defense mode.

Balance of Light and Darkness

Image: Light End and Dark End Dragon on opposite sides of a split screen.

| Continuous Trap | When a Light or Dark Attribute monster you control is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard you can activate one of the following effects depending on the attribute of the destroyed monster.

*Light – Special Summon a Dark Attribute monster whose level is equal to or lower than the level of the destroyed monster.

*Dark – Special Summon a Light Attribute monster whose level is equal to or lower than the level of the destroyed monster.

Light Guard

Light | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1400/1700 | If this card is used for the Advance Summon a Light or Dark Attribute monster you can remove this card from your Graveyard to have the summoned monster gain the following effect.

*If the summoned monster is selected as an attack target to may change it to defense mode.

Dark Sniper

Dark | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1800/1600 | If this card is used for the Advance Summon a Light or Dark Attribute monster you can remove this card from your Graveyard to have the summoned monster gain the following effect.

*If the summoned monster destroys a monster you opponent controls and sends it to the Graveyard inflict 900 points of damage to your opponent's Life Points.

Light Technician

Light | Level 3 | Warrior/Effect | 600/1400 | If this card is used for the Advance Summon a Light or Dark Attribute monster you can remove this card from your Graveyard to have the summoned monster gain the following effect.

*If this card attacks your opponent cannot activate any Spell or Trap cards until the end of the damage step.

Light Hunter

Light | Level 7 | Machine/Effect | 2600/2000 | You can remove this card from play to return all your other removed from play cards back to your Graveyard.

Dark Scout

Dark | Level 2 | Warrior/Effect | 900/900 | When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard you can Special Summon a 'Light Scout' from your Deck.

Light Scout

Light | Level 2 | Warrior/Effect | 900/900 | When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard you can Special Summon a 'Dark Scout' from your Deck.

Sage of Chaos

Light | Level 4 | Spellcaster/Effect | 1600/1300 | When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard you may add one Light or Dark Attribute monster from your Deck to your hand. If you summon the card you added you must remove this card from your Graveyard.

Junk Dealer

Image: A bald man with a goatee with a pile of junk behind him.

| Spell | Select up to 2 Monsters in your Graveyard. Special Summon them in Attack Position and halve their original ATK.

(This card was first used by Alister/Amelda during episode 167 of the original Yu-gi-oh! Duel Monsters all creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Mediator of Chaos

Dark | Level 4 | Spellcaster/Effect | 1300/1600 | When a Light or Dark type monster you control is destroyed by battle and a direct attack is declared you may discard this card to automatically end the Battle Phase.

Dark Samurai

Dark | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1800/1500 | If this card is used for the Advance Summon a Light or Dark Attribute monster you can remove this card from your Graveyard to have the summoned monster gain the following effect.

*The summoned monster may attack twice in a row during the Battle Phase.

Light Devourer

Light | Level 6 | Machine/Effect | 2400/1300 | Once per turn you can pay 500 Life Points and declare an Attribute. If this monster battles a monster with the declared Attribute it loses 600 attack points until the end of the damage step.

All Consuming Light

Image: Elemental Hero Neos and Jaden Yuki being blasted by a huge wave of light

| Spell | If a Light Attribute monster you control destroys an monster your opponent controls and sends it to the Graveyard this turn inflict damage equal to half the attack points of the destroyed monster to your opponent as damage.

Dark Priestess

Dark | Level 3 | Spellcaster/Effect | 1200/1600 | If this card is used for the Advance Summon a Light or Dark Attribute monster you can remove this card from your Graveyard to have the summoned monster gain the following effect.

*If the summoned monster inflicts damage to your opponent you can destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field.

Light Swordswoman

Light | Level 3 | Warrior/Effect | 1300/1000 | If this card is used for the Advance Summon a Light or Dark Attribute monster you can remove this card from your Graveyard to have the summoned monster gain the following effect.

*The summoned monster inflicts piercing damage.

Dark Spy

Dark | Level 3 | Warrior/Effect | 1100/900 | If this card is used for the Advance Summon a Light or Dark Attribute monster you can remove this card from your Graveyard to have the summoned monster gain the following effect.

*If the summoned monster would be destroyed by the effect of a Trap card you may remove a Light or Dark monster from play to negate the summoned monster's destruction.

Light Spy

Light | Level 3 | Warrior/Effect | 900/1100 | If this card is used for the Advance Summon a Light or Dark Attribute monster you can remove this card from your Graveyard to have the summoned monster gain the following effect.

*If the summoned monster would be destroyed by the effect of a Spell card you may remove a Light or Dark monster from play to negate the summoned monster's destruction.

Light Cannoneer

Light | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1750/1600 | If this card is used for the Advance Summon a Light or Dark Attribute monster you can remove this card from your Graveyard to have the summoned monster gain the following effect.

*Once per turn you may release a Light or Dark monster to inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the released monster's level x200.

Chaos Dragon

Light | Level 9 | Dragon/Effect | 3000/2800 | While this card is face up on the field it's Attribute is also treated as Dark. You can release three monsters to Advance Summon this card. If all three releases were either Light or Dark Attribute you can destroy every card your opponent controls and drew one card for every card destroyed by this card's effect.


	41. Ch41: Ruinous Force

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Forty-One: Ruinous Force

Shin Lozano was created by the Red King creative credit goes to them.

Sortiris and the man called Burei walked into a large room with a recliner near the far wall. The far wall had had several drawers with labels on them. "Did you enjoy your time in that world master?" Burei asked.

"Yes Reina was a challenging opponent she and her friends will be useful when the time comes to put the final phase of the plan into action," Sortiris said placing his Light and Dark Deck in one of them.

He sat down the on the chair and leaned back. He held up a Deck, it was his best. "I may never use it but who cares," he shrugged.

Two hours later

Reina, Rob, Melissa, Zeke and Vincent were running down the street. She had tried her best to explain the situation and it had actually been pretty easy.

"Alright so why are we trying to find Josh I didn't catch that part?" Zeke asked.

"I don't know if that guy counts Josh as a friend but he should be warned just in case," Reina said.

"Plus Josh is generally someone you want to have on your side," Rob said,

They continued to run for a bit when Melissa spoke up. "Alright how do we know where Josh is if he's like Zeke and Reina he's probably been challenged a few times."

"Maybe one of us should call Josh's cell phone," Vincent suggested.

Reina pulled out her phone and dialled Josh's number. It rung for a few seconds and someone picked up. It wasn't Josh it as Alexandria. "What do you want Reina?" she asked.

"Polite as ever I hear," Reina hissed. "I need to talk to Josh!"

"He's busy getting ready to duel someone would you like to schedule a match?" the Fortune Lady duelist asked sarcastically.

"No but you need to tell him that a demon might be after him and maybe you!" Reina shouted.

"Oh well I'll….wait what?" Alexandria asked.

"You know horns long thin tail maybe bat like wings, offers humans power in exchange for their souls," Reina explained. "Where are you anyway?"

"We're near that huge electronic store," Alexandria said. "I wanted to see if they had any laptop batteries."

"Alright well who is Josh's opponent?" Reina asked.

"Some kid with a red, blue and orange Disk," Alexandria said. "You can come and watch if you want."

"We'll be right down," Reina said. "Alright follow me!"

"Who made her the boss," Rob muttered.

"Her Psychic Dueling powers maybe," Vincent grinned.

Near the electronics store

Josh and a boy who stood just under six feet with short dark brown hair and equally brown eyes stood across from each other. The boy was wearing a black jacket with a red t-shirt underneath with a flame like insignia on it and a pair of jeans. His Duel Disk looked just like Alexandria had described, the tray was orange and some of its colours flowed over to the body which for the most part was red its jewel was blue.

Josh grinned. "So Shin are you ready to duel?"

"Of course I am," Shin grinned back.

"Hold up!" someone shouted.

Both duelists and Alexandria turned to see a young man with short obviously bleached blond hair wearing a leather jacket with a black t-shirt underneath and black jeans. His Disk looked normal except it was some weird orange colour. "I want to duel you!" the guy said.

"Take a number," Josh scoffed. "Nearly everyone wants to challenge me but he made an appointment with Alexandria so I'm facing him, come back in about a week."

The punk snarled. "You son of a…!" he snarled.

"Finish that and I'll knock out your teeth," Josh growled. He hated it when people insulted his parents especially his mother. "Why should I duel you anyway?"

"Because if you don't I'll tell everyone Joshua Atlas refused to face me!" the punk smirked.

"Well some people will believe you but most will realize you're full of crap," Josh said. "So like I said if you want to duel then wait your turn!"

"_Crap if I go back now the boss will be pissed and his boss will be pretty mad too,"_ the punk thought. "I'm not leaving until I face you!"

Josh growled this guy was starting to bug him. "Hey why don't we have a triangle duel?" Shin suggested.

Josh rubbed his chin and grinned. "Actually that's not a bad idea."

"But wait this guy hasn't set up a match!" Alexandria protested.

"True but sometimes you just have to bend the rules," the Dragon duelist said. "Alright buddy do you have a name?"

"Just call me Sig," the punk said.

"Well I'm Shin Lozano!" the other boy said introducing himself.

"I don't give a shit kid!" Sig snarled.

"You know there's something called respect you could try it buddy," Josh said.

"And to be fair I'm sixteen," Shin muttered.

They stood in a triangle their Duel Disks raised.

"So who gets to go first," Sig asked.

"How about we go from youngest to oldest and no one can attack until we've each had a Standby Phase," Josh said.

"Sounds fine by me," Shin said.

"I'm ok with that," Sig said. "I'm nineteen so I guess I'm going last oh well I'm pound you two into the pavement!"

"Alright so other than what Josh already said this is basically like a regular duel except you can help out one of your opponent like say Shin attacks Josh, Sig could activate Mirror Force to destroy his monsters," Alexandria explained. "All right do you all understand?"

They all nodded as their auto-shufflers activated. "Begin!" she cried.

"Duel!" all three shouted.

**(Shin: 8000) - (Josh: 8000) - (Sig: 8000)**

"I'll start it off with Jurrac Velo!" in a burst of fire a Dinosaur with a red head, a green body and blue claws jumped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 1000) "Then I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"Jurracs interesting choice," Josh said. "I'll summon my Cave Dragon!" the lazy rocky scaled Dragon stomped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 2000/DEF 100)

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh said.

"I'll activate Graceful Charity!" no angel appeared before Sig so he just drew three times and then dropped two cards into the Graveyard. "I'll end my turn with a face down monster."

"I'll activate my Graceful Charity!" the angel floated next to Shin and he looked over his hand before handing her two cards. "Next I'll activate Fossil Excavation and it acts like Call of the Haunted only I have to discard a card and I have to revive a Dinosaur monster plus if it had an effect the effect is negated so come back Jurrac Herra!" a skeleton burst out of the ground it was quickly restored to its old appearance with yellow and green scales and two cannons sticking out of its shoulders. (LV6/ATK 2300/DEF 1500)

"Herra destroy Cave Dragon with Flame Cannons and Velo destroy the face down monster!" Herra fired two blast of fire incinerating Josh's monster and Velo slashed the face down monster revealing what appeared to be a large question mark with eyes and arms and legs.

**(Shin: 8000) - (Josh: 7700) - (Sig: 8000)**

"What in the Hell was that?" Josh asked.

"That was my Unknown Caller it allows me to add a monster from my Deck to my hand as long as the monster has question mark attack points," a card slid out of his Deck and he smirked.

"I'll end my turn," Shin said.

"I activate Polymerization fusing together my Divine Dragon Ragnarok and my Dragonic Fusion Supporter to call out King Dragun!" the wispy Dragon and the statue holding a Polymerization card appeared and were pulled into a vortex. The half human half Dragon flew out with energy crackling around him. (LV7/ATK 2400/DEF 1100)

"Next I'll activate Gifts from the Dragon Lords and this sort of acts like Super Rejuvenation only this card allows me to draw one card for every Dragon sent to the Graveyard this turn," Josh explained. "Dragun blast that punk directly with Fire Scourge!" the Dragon ruler breathed a stream of fire at Sig causing him to hiss and stumble back.

**(Shin: 8000) - (Josh: 7700) - (Sig: 5600)**

"I'll alright I'll end my turn and then I get to draw two cards," Josh said pulling two cards off his Deck.

Sig drew and smirked. "I'll send two cards from my hand to my Graveyard dropping my seven card hand down to five to call out Candelato, the Beast of Light!" a huge pillar of light erupted in front of Sig and from it stepped a large slightly mechanical orange creature with two heads each with only one eye. (LV12/ATK ?/DEF 0)

"How are its points determined?" Shin asked.

"It gains 1000 attack points for every card in my hand and I have four!" a white aura started to appear around Candelato. (LV12/ATK 0-4000/DEF 0)

"Whoa it's like Osiris!" Josh gasped.

"Similar except it lacks Osiris' 2000 point blast and I can't conduct my Draw Phase while I control it," Sig explained. "But it can still blast King Dragun back to Hell!" both heads breathed a powerful beam of light. King Dragun struggled against it before being atomized.

**(Shin: 8000) - (Josh: 6100) - (Sig: 5600)**

"No freaking way," Josh gasped. "That attack felt pretty real!"

Sig just grinned. "Well that is what happens in a Darkness Game isn't it?"

"Wait this guy can start Darkness Games?" Alexandria asked.

"Yes my master teaches everyone who works him how to create Darkness Game but there is no punishment for losing well other than some pain that'll come from direct attacks!" the punk laughed.

"Crap," Shin said.

"I'll set a card face down," Sig said as a card appeared behind Candelato causing the aura to weaken. (LV12/ATK 4000-3000/DEF 0)

"Nice going you can't even use your cards without weakening double ugly," Shin smirked.

"I have ways to get around that effect," Sig sneered.

"_Does he mean he set Reckless Greed, it would allow him to draw twice at the cost of skipping his Draw Phase twice but what does he care,"_ the Jurrac duelist thought.

"I'll move both my monsters to defense mode and then set a card face down and that'll be all," he said.

"I'll set a monster in defense mode and end my turn," Josh said.

Sig did something that caught both Josh and Shin off guard he drew a card. "Hey wait you can't do that!" Alexandria shouted.

"I can't conduct my normal draw during my Draw Phase but thanks to my Mammon's Blessing in the Graveyard I can draw during my Standby Phase so long as I skip my next Draw Phase!" Sig laughed. (LV12/ATK 3000-4000/DEF 0)

"Now I'll activate Searing Light!" the aura around Candelato grew stronger and almost seemed to laugh. (LV12/ATK 4000-3000/DEF 0) "Destroy Jurrac Herra!" the twin headed monster breathed two more beams of light annihilating the yellow scaled Dinosaur.

**(Shin: 7500) - (Josh: 6100) - (Sig: 5600)**

"Wait how'd I take damage?" Shin asked holding his chest.

"Simple my Searing Light's effect activated if I destroy a monster controlled by opponent they take 500 points of damage," Sig explained.

"So defending will only help us so much now, great," Josh sighed.

"I'll end my turn," Sig said.

"I'll just set a card and that'll be all from me," Shin said.

"I'll set another monster face down and that'll be all," Josh said.

"What are you two afraid of my mighty beast," Sig laughed. (LV12/ATK 3000-4000/DEF 0) "Candelato blast Velo!" the twin headed monster breathed the burning blasts of light.

"I activate Sakuretsu Armor so now your monster destroyed!" the craggy Fiend appeared, he didn't look too thrilled. He shrugged and lunged at Candelato.

"I activate My Body as a Shield!" Sig shouted as his face down flipped up. "Since you're trying to destroy my monster by card effect I pay 1500 Life Points to negate your card and destroy it!" a bolt of energy shot of the card destroying the Fiend.

**(Shin: 7500) - (Josh: 6100) - (Sig: 4100)**

Candelato's attack continued unopposed destroying the Jurrac instantly causing Shin to hold his chest and cringe.

**(Shin: 7000) - (Josh: 6100) - (Sig: 4100)**

"This is too easy," Sig smirked. "A pair of five year olds would be more challenging!"

"Right just finish your move," Josh growled.

"Alright I'll just end my turn," Sig sneered.

"I'll set a monster and that's all I can do," Shin sighed.

"I'll just pass," Josh said.

"This is just pathetic all I'm getting is target practice," Sig said. (LV12/ATK 4000-5000/DEF 0) "I activate Power of Asura! This allows my Candelato to attack every monster both you control once although he has to be the only monster that attacks but I'm alright with that!" Candelato fired its beams. (LV12/ATK 5000-4000/DEF 0)

The first monster struck was Shin's it looked like a Protoceratops with orange scales.

**(Shin: 6500) - (Josh: 6100) - (Sig: 4100)**

Josh's first face down monster was Golem Dragon it resisted for a second before disintegrating. The next was Masked Dragon. "I'm not activating my Dragon's effect," Josh said.

**(Shin: 6500) - (Josh: 5600) - (Sig: 4100)**

"Too bad I wouldn't have minded shave off 3000 of your Life Points," Sig said with a smirk. "I'll end my turn."

A face down monster appeared in front of Shin. "I'll set this monster and end my turn."

"I'll set a card face down and summon Troop Dragon!" the Dragon man appeared on the field looking confused. (LV2/ATK 700/DEF 800)

"Wow do I look that stupid?" Sig laughed.

"I don't think you want me to answer that," Josh snickered.

"Just try and tell me that's not a Trap card," Sig sneered.

"Oh it's a Trap and it'll annihilate Candelato," the Dragon duelist said sounding confident.

"Oh yea just end your turn and we'll see!" Sig taunted.

"Alright I'll end my turn," Josh said with a shrug.

Just as Sig went to draw, Josh's face down flipped open revealing Josh wasn't lying. "Reverse card open Burst Breath! Now all I have to do is release a Dragon and all monsters with lower defense than the released monster's attack points are destroyed and last time I checked Candelato doesn't have any defense points!" Troop Dragon was surrounded by flames before it roared and flew at Candelato. Sig could only look on in horror as his monster was burn to a crisp.

"My….my…..my monster you destroyed it," he said.

"Oh ya you toasted that ugly thing," Shin said punching the air.

"_This is impossible this can't be happening,"_ Sig thought. "I…I'll set a card and that's it."

"You don't have many monsters do you?" Shin asked and Sig said nothing. "I'll take that as a no well it's no a good strategy for most Decks to be based around one monster."

"Shut up and move kid," Sig growled.

"I'll flip my face down Jurrac Dino face up!" a mostly red Dinosaur with a face like a jack-o-lantern on its stomach appeared on the field. (LV3/ATK 1700/DEF 800) "But I'm not done I activate Big Evolution Pill!" the Spell materialized and Dino dissolved into light before being pulled into the card.

"Now I can Normal Summon Dinosaurs without any releases but it'll only stay on the field for three of my opponent's turns but I'll make use of it, come out Jurrac Tyrannus!" a huge ball of fire appeared in front of Shin and from it an equally large Dinosaur with red scales and green fur on its neck and the back its head. (LV7/ATK 2500/DEF 1400)

Sig's eyes nearly bugged out of his head behind his sunglasses. "I'm not afraid of that thing bring it on!"

"Alright but don't say you didn't ask for it Tyrannus attack directly with Ancient Flame Burst!" the massive Dino breathed a stream of white hot flames causing Sig to scream in pain.

**(Shin: 6500) - (Josh: 5600) - (Sig: 1600)**

"Next turn you're finished," Josh said.

"I'm not out yet so shut up and let the kid finish his turn!" Sig snarled.

"I'll end my turn," Shin said.

"I summon Luster Dragon!" the sapphire Dragon jumped onto the field and growled at Sig. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 1600) "Luster Dragon end this with Sapphire Slasher!"

Luster Dragon snarled and flew forward its claws ready. A wall of light sprung up blocking Luster Dragon's advance. "What did you just do?" Shin asked.

"That was my Luminous Defense Wall I was able to discard it to negate a direct attack," Sig explained.

"So why didn't you discard it when Tyrannus blasted you?" Josh asked.

"Ugh I got a little freaked out by the giant Dinosaur and forgot I had it!" Sig snarled.

"I'll end my turn," Josh said.

"I activate Power Exchange!" Sig said throwing a card into his Disk. "I just have to remove a monster from my Graveyard and for every two starts it has I can draw a card so goodbye Candelato!"

The Beast of Light slid out of his Graveyard and he tore six cards off his Deck. "Whoa he's got nine cards," Shin gasped.

"Thanks captain obvious," Josh said. "But I'm guessing he probably drew another Candelato."

"Correct so I'll ditch two cards to call out Candelato!" the two headed mechanical looking creature burst onto the field. (LV12/ATK 0-6000/DEF 0) "Let me see I could blast Josh or I could get some revenge for torching me with a direct attack, I'll go with option number two. Candelato blast his Dinosaur back to the stone age!" the dual headed beast fired its blast of light but they were stopped by a familiar scarecrow.

"Sorry looks like my Scrap-Iron Scarecrow blocked your attack and instead of going to the Graveyard it sets itself," Shin said with a grin.

"Damn you I'll set a card and end my turn," (LV12/ATK 6000-5000/DEF 0)

"I'll move Tyrannus to defense mode and set another monster," the Jurrac duelist said.

"I'll move Luster Dragon to defense mode and end my turn," the Dragon duelist muttered as Shin's Big Evolution Pull shattered.

Reina's group arrived at the same time Josh was starting his turn. "What the Hell is that?" Zeke asked pointing to Candelato.

The others looked confused and went to stand next to Alexandria. "How is the duel going?" Rob asked.

"These two are beating the punk but he has that weird monster," she explained. "This one is actually a second copy I'm guessing he has three."

"It's called Candelato the Beast of Light!" Melissa shouted startling everyone who wasn't dueling. "It was used by some alien Jaden Yuki beat just after he got Neos!"

"How did you know that?" Vincent asked.

"It was under the Society of Light chapter in our Duel History book," the Psychic duelist explained.

"Wait so this guy is using a card that someone who worked for the Light of Destruction used," Reina said. "Hey are you working for a guy called Sortiris?"

"Yea so what if I am?" Sig said.

"You do realize he's a demon right?" Reina asked.

"I know I don't really care he gave me power and of course Candelato," Sig shrugged. "Who cares if it wakes up the Light the master will toast it."

"It's still your move," Shin said.

"Don't rush me!" Sig growled. (ATK 5000-6000/DEF 0)

"Wait how is he drawing that thing prevents him from conducting his normal draw?" Melissa asked.

"A card in his Graveyard lets him draw during his Standby Phase as long as he skips his Draw Phase next turn," Alexandria explained. "And that Spell card causes them 500 points of damage if he destroys one of their monsters."

"First I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon to take out your Scarecrow!" (LV12/ATK 6000-5000/DEF 0) a cyclone flew across the field and shattered Shin's Trap. "Candelato blast Tyrannus!" the two heads fired their breath weapon vaporizing Tyrannus.

**(Shin: 6000) - (Josh: 5600) - (Sig: 1600)**

"Awww not Tyrannus," Shin sighed. "Don't worry I'll avenge you!"

"I'd love to see you try that," Sig sneered. "I'll end my turn."

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Shin said.

"I'll just pass," Josh said.

"This is starting to get boring," Sig sighed. "I was hoping the runner up in the latest tournament would be more of a challenge."

"Just go," Josh hissed.

"Alright try to stay calm dragon boy," Sig said. (LV12/ATK 5000-6000/DEF 0) "Candelato blast Luster Dragon!" Luster Dragon didn't even have a change to cry out in pain before it was eradicated by the light.

**(Shin: 6000) - (Josh: 5100) - (Sig: 1600)**

"Hmph I've taken far more painful attacks from much better duelists than you," Josh scoffed.

"You're all talk," Sig laughed.

"I can I take my turn yet?" Shin asked tapping his foot impatiently.

"Yes just go," Sig said waving his hand.

"Alright time to bring down Candelato and knock you out of this duel," Shin announced.

"Ha bring it on kid my face down card is Destruction Jammer so if you try to destroy Candelato by card effect I'll just negate it!" Sig laughed.

"Thanks for telling me what your face down card is," Shin smirked. "I summon Jurrac Guaiba!" a mostly yellow and red Dinosaur with a long body and its back and claws on fire jumped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 400)

"Not even close to enough," Sig said.

"True but I activate Forbidden Chalice to negate Candelato's effect until the End Phase as well as give it a 400 attack point boost," Candelato was surrounded by a blue aura causing it to hiss in pain. (LV12/ATK 6000-400/DEF 0) "Guaiba sick him!" the long necked Dinosaur spat a fireball blowing Candelato to shards.

**(Shin: 6000) - (Josh: 5100) - (Sig: 300)**

"I'm still in this," Sig smirked. _"And I've got my last Candelato."_

"True but now Guaiba's effect activates and I get to Special Summon a Jurrac with 1700 or less attack points like Jurrac Monoloph!" a small Dinosaur with a blue body and a yellow head jumped onto the field. (LV3/ATK 1500/DEF 1200) "Monoloph attack him directly!" the smaller Dinosaur breathed a stream of fire striking Sig causing him to cry out

**(Shin: 6000) - (Josh: 5100) - (Sig: 0)**

"No how could I lose Candelato was unbeatable," Sig moaned.

"You lost because your Deck lacked soul," Shin said.

"What do you mean?" Sig growled.

"What I'm guessing he means is that when a duelist makes a Deck they put a little bit of themselves in their Deck," Josh said. "You choose Candelato because it was powerful so your Deck had no soul."

"And I'm not done my turn just set," Shin grinned. "I'll move to my second Main Phase and then I'll tune my level three, Monoloph and my level four, Guaiba….!"

"_Fires from the present create this ruler to overwhelm my enemies with your collective might! Synchro Summon and incinerate! Jurrac Giganoto!"_

Monoloph jumped into the air and transformed into three green rings. Guaiba jumped through them turning into orange framework. A huge burst of fire erupted from the rings and a huge form crashed onto the field. Its body was blue and its head was yellow with a flame like pattern on its neck and fire spewed out of its head. (LV7/ATK 2100/DEF 1800)

"Giganoto and now all Jurracs gain 200 attack points for each Jurrac monster in my Graveyard and I have six," the spirits of the fallen Jurracs appeared and were absorbed into Giganoto causing the flames on its head to burn hotter. (LV7/ATK 2100-3300/DEF 1800)

"I'll end my turn," Shin said.

"I'll set a monster face down and that'll be all," Josh said.

"I'll flip my face down monster face up so meet Jurrac Gallim!" a small Dinosaur with a long neck and blue head and a light orange body. (LV2/ATK 1200-2400/DEF 0) "Gallim attack his face down monster!" the smaller Dino rushed forward and delivered a powerful kick to Masked Dragon's face shattering it.

"I'm calling out my last Masked Dragon!" another red scaled Dragon appeared and shielded itself with its wings. (LV3/ATK 1400/DEF 1100)

"Giganoto torch it!" the Dinosaur Synchro breathed a torrent of flames burning Masked Dragon to ashes.

"I'll call out my Manga Drago!" the crimson arrowed head Dragon Tuner flew onto the field and shielded itself with its wings. (LV2/ATK 1400/DEF 600)

"I'll end my turn," Shin said.

"I'll bring out my Star Bright Dragon!" a beige coloured Dragon with a head and wings shaped like Stardust Dragon flew onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 1000) "And it has a useful effect when it's called out I can raise the level of one of my monsters other than Star Bright by two!" Star Bright pointed to Magna Drago causing the other Dragon to glow as two glowing balls of light appeared over his head. (LV2-4/ATK 1400/DEF 600)

"I'll tune my now level four, Manga Dragon and my level four, Star Bright Dragon….!" Josh began.

"_Twisting torrents of hellfire signal the king's arrival, his very presence makes his enemies quake in fear. Bow down and behold! Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" _

Magna Drago flew into the air and transformed into four Synchro gates. Star Bright Dragon flew through them becoming transparent and causing a large burst of light. Red Dragon flew onto the field with a roar. (LV8/ATK 3000/DEF 2000)

"I'll end my turn by setting a card face down," the Dragon duelist said.

"Well nothing beats seeing Red Dragon Archfiend in person," Shin grinned.

"What do you mean are you some kind of fan of my dad?" Josh asked.

"Actually yes I've seen just about every one of his duels mostly because my parents were huge fans of him," Shin explained. "I've always wanted to face him in a duel partly to face Red Dragon but also to test my skill against him."

"So you challenged me as the next best thing?" Josh asked.

"Nope I also wanted to test my skills against you, I mean you made it to the finals of the Battle for the Crown and nearly won," Shin said. "And this duel has been really fun. Oh and I'll pass."

"Heh I'm guessing you skipped your turn so I couldn't trigger my face down card, well it doesn't matter go Fiendish Chain!" several chains burst out of the ground tying up the bigger Dinosaur. (LV7/ATK 3300-2100/DEF 1800) (LV2/ATK 2400-1200/DEF 0)

"Hey what just happened?" Shin asked.

"My Fiendish Chain happened it negates your monster's effect and prevents it from attacking," Josh explained. "Red Dragon destroy Giganoto with Absolute Power Force!" Red Dragon roared and slashed Giganoto with his claws causing the fiery Synchro to howl in pain before exploding in a ball of fire.

**(Shin: 5100) - (Josh: 5100)**

"I'll end my turn," Josh said.

"I'll move Gallim to defense mode and end my turn," Shin said as Gallim crouched down.

Josh drew and scowled. "Red Dragon incinerate Gallim!" the black Dragon smashed the beaked Dinosaur with its burning hand crushing it to pixels.

Red Dragon held his chest and growled. "Wait what's happening to Red Dragon Archfiend?"

"If Gallim is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard the monster that destroyed him goes with him," Shin said. "But you can prevent that from happening if you discard a card."

"I can't and I'm sorry Red Dragon," Red Dragon Archfiend let out a last roar before exploding into pixels.

"I'll end my turn," Josh grumbled.

"I'll activate my second Fossil Excavation to bring back Gallim!" the long necked Dinosaur jumped out of the ground the fire on its chest no longer burning. "Next I'll summon someone who isn't a Jurrac but is a welcome member of the team come on out Gilasaurus!" a large brown raptor jumped onto the field. (LV3/ATK 1400/DEF 400)

"I tune my level two, Gallim and my level three, Gilasaurus….!" Shin began.

_"Fires of the past create this being born from speed cut down my enemy defense! Burn! Jurrac Velphito"_

Instead of taking off into the air Gallim ran forward past Josh Gilasaurus right behind it. Gallim became two green rings that Gilasaurus ran through. Instead of light another blast of fire erupted onto the field.

The monster standing several feet behind Josh was an even larger raptor with mostly purple scales except for its legs which were red and covered in flames on its center toes was a single curved metal blade. (LV5/ATK ?/DEF ?)

"How are its attack and defense points determined?" Josh asked.

"They're both the combined attack points of the monsters used to Synchro Summon it," Shin explained as the flames on Velphito's legs burned hotter. (LV5/ATK 0-2600/DEF 0-2600) "Attack him directly with Flying Claw Slash!" the raptor flew forward with amazing speed and leapt into the air.

"I activate Dark Wall of Wind!" a twisting black wind surrounded Josh blowing Velphito back. "So your monster can't attack me directly this turn."

"Alright I'll just end it with a face down card," Shin said.

"I'll set a card face down and a monster on the defensive and call it a turn," Josh said.

"I summon Jurrac Iguanon!" a long necked Dinosaur with blue scales and a lighter blue head and neck and its back on fire burst onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 700)

"Velphito attack his face down monster!" the raptor jumped into the air again and much to everyone but Shin's shock sliced the face down monster in half without flipping it out. "Velphito can destroy face down defense monsters with its effect without applying damage calculation."

"Damn it," Josh hissed.

Shin clicked a button on his Duel Disk. "So my hunch was correct that was Exploder Dragon and since it was destroyed by card effect it's effect doesn't activate. Alright Iguanon attack him directly!" the blue Dinosaur gather a ball of fire in its hands.

"_I could use my face down to block this but then how would I defeat Velphito, oh well," _Josh thought just as he was hit by a ball of fire.

**(Shin: 5100) - (Josh: 3400)**

"I'll end my turn," Shin said.

"I activate Synchro Spirits!" Josh shouted. "Now I'll just remove Red Dragon from my Graveyard to bring Star Bright Dragon and Magna Drago back!" the beige Dragon and arrow headed Dragon appeared on the field in a burst of light.

"Wait what are you going to summon?" Shin wondered.

"Well first I'll boost my Drago's level by two again," two more glowing balls of light appeared above Magna Drago again. (LV2-4/ATK 1400/DEF 600) "Then I'll tune my now level four, Magna Dragon and my level four, Star Bright Dragon!"

"_This mighty servant of the king will streak down the path of light straight onto the battle field! All so see its glorious light will be brought to their knees! Synchro Summon Light End Dragon!"_

Magna Drago flew into the air again becoming the Synchro gates. Star Bright Dragon flew through them becoming wireframe again. Everyone shielded their eyes from the huge burst of light that erupted over the field.

The white serpentine Dragon flew over the field with a loud roar. "Meet Light End Dragon a gift from a friend," Josh grinned. (LV8/ATK 2600/DEF 2100)

"Alright this is a new one," Shin gulped.

"Yes and I'm activating his effect on your Velphito Light Expansion!" Light End growled as a glowing sphere surrounded it and Velphito causing the Dinosaur to shield its eyes. (LV5/ATK 2600-1100/DEF 2600-1100) (LV8/ATK 2600-2100/DEF 2100-1600) "It lowers your monsters attack and defense by 1500 and my monster loses 500 attack and defense permanently. Destroy it with Shining Sublimation!" Light End breathed a beam of light at the Dinosaur vaporizing it instantly.

**(Shin: 4100) - (Josh: 3400)**

"Next I'm going to activate Dragon Draw and since the only type of monster I control is Dragon I draw twice," Josh said. "I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"I'll move my Iguanon to defense mode and set a card face down and end my turn," Shin said.

"I summon my Lancer Lindwurm!" a Dragon in brown armour wielding a double sided lance flew onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"That's what I was waiting for I activate Gozen Match!" Shin's newest set card flipped up. "Now both of us send monsters to our Graveyard until we control only one Attribute and as long as this card remains face up we aren't allowed to control monsters with different Attribute."

"Fine I'll send my Lindwurm to the Graveyard," Josh said dropping the monster into his Graveyard. "But I've still got Dragon's Rage so now all Dragon monsters inflict piercing damage!"

"Oh crap," Shin said.

"Light End Dragon destroy his monster!" Light End breathed another beam of light immolating Iguanon.

**(Shin: 2700) - (Josh: 3400)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Josh said.

"I'll set a monster face down along with two face down cards and then I'll end my turn," Shin said as three new cards appeared on his field.

Just as Josh went to draw a swirling cyclone flew across the field annihilating Josh's Dragon's Rage. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and use it to destroy your Trap card," the Jurrac duelist grinned.

"Light End destroy his face down monster!" the white Dragon breathed another beam of light vaporizing a small Dinosaur with a blue body and light green head, with three lines of fire along its back.

"That was my Jurrac Stauriko and since you destroyed it by battle I get two Jurrac Tokens in defense mode!" two yellow and red eggs covered in fire floated onto the field. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0) x2

"I'll end my turn," Josh said.

"I'll activate another face down Call of the Haunted and I'll use it to bring back Jurrac Herra!" the yellow and green Dinosaur with cannons sticking out of its back burst out of the ground. "I'll activate Monster Reborn to bring back Jurrac Gallim!" the thin blue and yellow Dinosaur jumped out of the ankh.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything but why didn't you use either of those cards to bring back Giganoto?" Josh asked.

"It's because I want to summon my own one of a kind card," Shin explained.

"What card would that be?" the Dragon duelist wondered.

"You'll see soon because I'm tuning my level two, Gallim with my level six, Herra and my two level one, Jurrac Tokens….!" Shin began.

_"Fires from the future create extinction destroy to all beings and create new life! Begin! Jurrac Meteor"_

Gallim jumped into the air and transformed into two green rings. The surrounded Herra and the two eggs but instead off becoming transparent they were wrapped in a sphere of fire that shot into the sky and vanished from sight.

"I won a tournament two years ago and was awarded the chance to create a new card I chose to make one representing the very thing that help bring an end to the age of the Dinosaurs," Shin said pointing to the sky.

A large ball of fire was quickly approaching them. They squinted and could make out a form inside the fire. It was huge with long spikes sticking out of its back and a disproportionally small head. (LV10/ATK 2800/DEF 2000) "Meteor destroys every card on the field itself included but it'll survive thanks to my last face down card Interdimensional Matter Transporter!" a strange looking space age machine floated onto the field and a portal open sucking the massive Dinosaur in.

The fireball smashed into the field bathing everything in super hot flames. Josh covered his face as his field was wiped clean. He opened his eyes and much to his surprise Jurrac Dino had appeared. "Where did he come from?" he asked.

"Meteor has another effect and it lets me Special Summon a Tuner monster from my Graveyard and Dino is a very strong Tuner," Shin grinned. "Dino attack him directly!" Dino snarled and charged forward stabbing Josh with its horn.

**(Shin: 2700) - (Josh: 1700)**

"I'll end my turn and that means Meteor is back!" in a flash of light the spiky Dinosaur crashed down behind Shin.

"I activate Emergency Recharge and since I have no cards in my hand I get to draw four cards," Josh said plucking four cards of his Deck. "I activate Premature Burial to bring back Red Dragon Archfiend!" Josh's signature monster burst out of the ground with a roar.

**(Shin: 2700) - (Josh: 900)**

"Now I'll activate Legend of the Purple Dragon!" Josh threw a card into his Disk and grinned. "I have to give up two Dragon monsters who total levels are eight or higher and I choose my Red Dragon and my Dread Dragon!" an alter with a large purple egg sitting on it appeared and next to Red Dragon Archfiend appeared small brown Dragon with dreadlocks. Both of them dissolved into motes of light that surrounded the egg. It started to crack before a small creature burst out of it.

He was a relatively small Dragon with purple scales with a beige stomach. He had a pair of slightly curved yellow horns sticking out of the top of his head and a line of yellow spines running down his back along with a pair of small wings. (LV8/ATK 3300/DEF 3000)

"I know that Dragon," Zeke gasped.

"You do so what's his story because he doesn't look that tough," Rob said.

"Believe me when they say looks can be deceiving they clearly meant something like him," Zeke said. "Well back when the Archfiend's were experimenting on Dragons they had two major failures, Black and Fiend Skull Dragon neither of which would listen to them and left. So they capture a friend of his named Cynder. But that little guy wouldn't stand for it and flew to Pandemonium tearing through everything in his way. He confronted Terrorking but found out they had already experiment on Cynder transforming her to the worst aspects of a Dragon and a Fiend."

"The two fought and he was able to calm her down and return her to her mostly normal form but she was still corrupted by the energies of Pandemonium. Terrorking was pissed he was not about to lose another Dragon so he confronted the purple Dragon and was badly beaten, it's likely that's what weakened him enough for Archfiend Empress to stab him in the back and take his power. Cynder and him went to King Dragun to get help. He was able to separate Cynder from the darkness but it took the form she'd fought the purple Dragon it and confronted both of them. If they won it'd be banished forever if it won they'd both be corrupted too much to even call themselves Dragons. After a long fight lasting for several days the darkness was slain and Cynder gained a power boost in the process," he finished taking several deep breaths.

"Right and now I'm activating my newest ally's ability and it allows me to select one of the monsters I used to summon him in my Graveyard and he gains that monster's effect and I'll choose Red Dragon!" the small Dragon started to glow as purple energy that looked like the fiendish Dragon appeared above him.

"I'll also remove the Ritual card I used to summon him to allow him to attack all your monster's at once so attack his monsters with Elemental Breath!" energy started to crackle around the Dragon and breathed a blast of fire, ice, electricity and earth that slammed into Shin's monsters disintegrating them instantly.

**(Shin: 600) - (Josh: 900)**

"I'll end my turn," Josh said.

Shin drew and sighed. "I'll end my turn so end it," he grinned.

"You've got skills I have to admit that," Josh said. "If you ever want to challenge my old man give me a call I'll set up a time and place. But right now end this!" the purple Dragon flew forward slamming head first into Shin's gut knocking him back.

**(Shin: 0) - (Josh: 900)**

Everyone heard someone clapping and noticed Sortiris standing behind Josh with Sig and a man wearing a white lab coat with greasy black hair. "Excellent duel you two and you managed to defeat Sig. I must commend you on that," the demon said.

"I'm guessing this is the guy who challenged you Reina?" Vincent asked pointing to Sortiris.

"Yes that's him but what do you want?" she growled.

"I wanted to watch an exciting duel and I got that, now I'd like to see what kind of skills your friends possess Doctor if you wouldn't mind," Sortiris said.

"Gladly," the man said. He gestured and a large portal opened behind Reina's friends and one behind Alexandria. They were all pulled off their feet and into the swirling portal.

"What did you do with them?" Josh and Reina snarled.

"The good Doctor here sent them somewhere to be tested," Sortiris grinned. "Don't worry they're safe, more or less and you'll get them back soon enough."

The Doctor waved his hand and a portal opened behind Sortiris and his two henchmen. "Get back here!" the two enraged duelists snarled flying at him. He stepped into the portal causing them to crash into the ground.

"Alright what just happened who was that guy and where did your friends go?" Shin asked completely puzzled.

"It would take too long to explain but you might want to go home," Reina said.

"I'm going to call Trudge and see if he can help us," Josh said pulling out his cell phone.

**Melissa: …**

**Zeke: ….**

**Rob: …**

**Alexandria: …..**

**What's his name: Hey!**

**Reina: Where are they?**

**Josh: I have no idea but we'll find them and don't miss Attack on the Beach!**

**? : So you're my opponent.**

**Original Cards**

Unknown Caller

Dark | Level 3 | Spellcaster/Effect | 1000/1000 | When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard you may add a monster with ? attack points from your Deck to your hand.

Gifts from the Dragon Lords

Image: Chibi versions of Darkblaze Dragon, Felgrand Dragon and Tyrant Dragon handing a duelist a box with a ribbon.

| Quick-Play Spell | During your End Phase draw one card for each Dragon type monster that was sent to the Graveyard except as a result of battle this turn.

Candelato, the Beast of Light

Light | Level 12 | Beast/Effect | ?/0 | This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by sending 2 cards from your hand to the Graveyard. This card cannot attack during the turn it is Summoned. This card's ATK becomes 1000 x the number of cards in its controller's hand. While you control this face-up card, you must skip your normal draw during your Draw Phase.

(This card was first used by the Alien of Light during episode 62 of Yu-gi-oh! GX creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Mammon's Blessing

Image: A demon wearing jewels and gold showering a duelist with gold.

| Trap | As long as this card remains in your Graveyard you may draw a card during your Standby Phase. (If you activate this card's effect you can't conduct your next Draw Phase.)

Searing Light

Image: Reshef the Dark Being blasting a village with bolts of light from the orbs in his chest.

| Continuous Spell | If a Light Attribute monster you controls destroys a monster you opponent controls by battle and sends it to the Graveyard inflict 500 points of damage to their Life Points.

Power of Asura

Image: Asura Priest attacking the Ojama brothers

| Spell | Select one face up monster you control. That monster may attack every monster you opponent controls once each until the End Phase. (The turn you activate this card only the selected monster may declare an attack.)

Luminous Defense Wall

Image: A large wall of light blocking Terrorking Archfiend from attacking a damaged Majestic Mech – Senku.

| Trap | You can discard this card from your hand to the Graveyard to negate a direct attack.

Power Exchange

Image: A person looking a gold statue of Obelisk the Tormenter.

| Spell | Remove a Level five or higher monster from your Graveyard and draw one card for every two levels the removed card had.

Legend of the Purple Dragon

Image: A light blue dragon, a dark green dragon an orange red dragon and a yellow dragon standing around a purple egg.

| Ritual Spell | This card is used to Ritual Summon 'The Legendary Purple Dragon'. You must also release two Dragon type monsters whose total level equal eight or more. You can remove this card from your Graveyard to allow 'The Legendary Purple Dragon' to attack every monster you opponent controls this turn once each until the End Phase.. (If you activate this effect no other monsters you control may attack this turn.)

The Legendary Purple Dragon

Light | Level 8 | Dragon/Ritual/Effect | 3300/3000 | This card can only be Ritual Summoned by the effect of 'Legend of the Purple Dragon.' When this card is Ritual Summoned select one of the released monsters in the Graveyard. This card gains the same effect as that monster.

(Both of these cards are based on the Spyro the Dragon series currently owned by Activision. Creative credit goes to Charles Zembillas and Mark Cerry.)

(The idea for these cards comes from D.J. Scales so credit for that goes to them.)


	42. Ch42: Attack on the Beach

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Forty-Two: Attack on the Beach.

The two OCs from this chapter belong to D.J. Scales.

A young man collapsed to his knees. Burei stood over him. "You put up a good fight but in the end you could never beat me," he said picking the now unconscious man by his shirt.

"Put him down right now!" someone snarled. It was a young woman with tanned skin wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue pants, her dark blue hair was tied into a ponytail.

A swirling void opened up in front of Burei's feet and he dropped the young man in. "What did you do to him!" the girl roared.

"Don't worry he's perfectly safe," Burei said.

"Like I'm going to believe you!" the girl roared. "You showed up out of nowhere and challenge him to a Darkness Game and then you dropped him into that void!"

"It was necessary my liege wishes for you to duel someone," Burei explained. "And we needed a barraging chip so you would co-operate."

"And I'm guessing if I don't you'll kill him," the girl said sounding slightly more calm.

"That is a possibility," the samurai said. "So come with me." He turned around as another portal opened. The girl hung her head and followed him.

Some time later

The girl better known as Michelle Tsunami the granddaughter of Mako Tsunami the legendary Water duelist was standing on a beach starring at the sea. "I'll give him one thing he knows how to make a good fake beach," she muttered.

She heard a dull thumped and turned to see an unconscious Alexandria had been dropped onto the beach. She sighed and walked over to the Spellcaster duelist and gently shook her. "Wake up," she said.

Alexandria groaned but didn't get up. Michelle shook a bit more roughly. "Hey wake up I'm supposed to duel you," she said.

Alexandria groaned and sat up. She looked around feeling confused and dizzy. "Oh where am I what happened , the last thing I remember was that guy in the lab coat opening some portals," she moaned holding her head.

"You've been transported to an artificial beach probably in another dimension or something," Michelle explained. "The air doesn't smell right here. And you can take some time to get your bearings. "

"Thank you," Alexandria said clutching her forehead. She looked around and it seemed she was on a small island in the middle of the ocean. "This is too weird."

She got a good look at the girl and cocked an eyebrow. "I know her from somewhere," she muttered. It took a second but then it clicked. "She's Mako Tsunami's grandchild…..but what was her name again?"

"It's Michelle," the blue haired girl said. "Don't worry that happens quite a bit I'm used to it."

Alexandria got to her feet and dusted herself off. "So who sent you here?" she asked.

"Some guy wearing armour like Great Shogun Shien only slightly more demonic looking," Michelle answered. "But he actually took me to some kind of castle or fortress first. He also kidnapped my boyfriend and said if I don't duel he'd" kill him."

"Some guy in a lab coat sent me here but I have no clue as to why," Alexandria muttered. She looked at her arm and noticed she was wearing her Duel Disk. "Alright this just keeps getting weirder."

She pulled her Deck out of the holder and looked through it. "Alright everything is here," she grinned.

"Are you ready to duel?" Michelle asked raising her Duel Disk.

"Yes," Alexandria replied.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

**(Alexandria: 8000) - (Michelle: 8000)**

"You can make the first move if you want to," Michelle offered.

"I will," Alexandria said pulling six cards off her Deck. "I'll start off with a monster face down followed by a card face down and that's all."

"Not a bad opening move," Michelle said. "I'll start off by discarding my Warrior of Atlantis to add A Legendary Ocean from my Deck to hand and then I'll activate it!" a card slit out Michelle's Deck and she quickly slid it into her Field Spell zone.

The water rose up to the girl's ankles as what looked like a stone city rose up behind Michelle. "Alright my Field Spell is treated as Umi and it downgrades my monster's levels by one on the field and in the hand plus it grants all Water monsters 200 attack and defense points. Now it's time to meet my Shark Cruiser!" a large form burst out of the water behind Michelle. It was a submarine shaped like a shark. (LV5-4/ATK 1800-2000/DEF 2200-2400)

"Shark Cruiser destroy her face down monster with Fish Torpedo!" one of shark shaped torpedoes attached to the sub dropped into the water and flew at Alexandria's monster blowing it to smithereens.

"That was my Apprentice Magician and since she was destroyed I get to Special Summon a level two or lower Spellcaster monster from my Deck like my Fortune Lady Light!" in a flash of light another face down monster was appeared on the field.

"Alright I'll end my turn with a face down card," Michelle said.

"Alright I'll flip my Fortune Lady Light face up and chain my Torrent Tribute activates and since a monster was summon all monsters on the field are destroyed!" a huge blast of water shot out of the Trap card crushing Shark Cruiser and the Fortune Lady under the weight. "And now my Fortune Lady's effect activates!"

"So does my Fish's," Michelle grinned.

"Since you destroyed Shark Cruiser with a card effect I get to Special Summon two level four or lower Water monsters from my Deck. And since chains resolve backwards I'll call out my Big Jaws and Barrier Statue of the Torrent both in the first in attack mode the second in defense mode!" two burst of water appeared behind Michelle and from them appeared a large blue shark with a curved blade sitting just in front of its dorsal fin (LV3-2/ATK 1800-2000/DEF 300-500) followed by a statue made of smooth blue stone with a fish like head. (LV4-3/ATK 1000-1200/DEF 1000-1200)

"Oh crap a Barrier Statue that means both of us can only Special Summon Water monster," Alexandria sighed. "Alright I'll use Light's effect to call out Fortune Lady Water in defense mode!" another form burst out of the water this one wore blue and she had wavy blue hair and held a staff much like her sisters. (LV4-3/ATK 0-1100/DEF 0-1100) "Her attack points are 300 times her level plus the bonus from your Field Spell."

"I'll end my turn with another face down card," Alexandria said.

"I'll summon Drill Barnacle!" a large grey arthropod with several holes on its body rose out of the water, after a second several purple drills popped out of the holes. (LV3-2/ATK 300-500/DEF 0-200) "And I'm not done yet because I'm activating my face down card Forgotten Temple of the Deep!" ruins made of whitish grey stone rose up behind the Water duelist.

"It's treated as Umi and it has another effect but I don't want to activate it right now instead Drill Barnacle attack her directly!" the drills on the arthropod started to spin and it flew forward and slammed into Alexandria causing her to cry out and fly back. (LV2/ATK 500-1500/DEF 200)

**(Alexandria: 7500) - (Michelle: 8000)**

"Are you alright!" Michelle asked.

"Ugh that was real….this is a Darkness Game isn't it?" Alexandria inquired as she got to her feet.

"I don't know they didn't tell me about that," Michelle said clenching her fist in anger. _"Grandfather I wonder how would you feel if you knew about this?"_

"I guess we'll have to make the best of it," Alexandria sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this but this isn't my first Darkness Game."

"Well I must admit you're brave then," the Water duelist grinned. "Most people would be too terrified to make a move during one of these."

"_I was scared out of my mind but if I wanted to see Josh again I knew I had to win too bad I failed the second time,"_ Alexandria thought. "Is that all you're going to do?"

"Now Big Jaws destroy her Fortune Lady Water with Big Crush!" the shark dove underwater and swam forward with blistering speed. It jumped up and bit down on the hapless Spellcaster causing her to howl in pain and shatter. "Normally Big Jaws would be removed from play at the end of the Battle Phase but I'm activating my Temple's effect and removing it from play!" the shark dove underwater again and this time swam into the temple.

"I'll end my turn with a face down and my Big Jaws come back!" the shark jumped out of the water again joining its comrades.

"I activate Premature Burial to Special Summon my Fortune Lady Water!" the blue clad Spellcaster floated out of the water. (LV4-3/ATK ?-1100/DEF ?-1100)

**(Alexandria: 6700) - (Michelle: 8000)**

"I'll release her to call out Fortune Lady Dark!" Water shattered becoming motes of dark light that started to swirl around forming into the purple haired Fortune Lady. (LV5/ATK ?-2000/DEF ?-2000)"Her attack is 400 times her level and I'll activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and after a second Alexandria handed her two cards.

"Dark destroy her Barrier Statue with Dark Fate!" Dark twirled her staff and around and fired a bolt of dark energy at the statue blowing it to pebbles. "Now her effect activates and since she just toasted one of your monsters I get to revive a Fortune Lady like Water!" Dark gestured and the blue Fortune Lady burst out of sea again. (LV4-3/ATK ?-1100/DEF ?-1100)

"And her effect activates letting me draw two cards," Alexandria's Deck started to glow light blue and she pulled two cards off the top. "Well this changes my plans a bit because I'm activating Mystical Space Typhoon and my target is your Field Spell!" the whirlwind flew across the field blowing the city to rubble. (LV2-3/ATK 2000-1800/DEF 500-300) (LV2-3ATK 1500-1300/DEF 200-0) (LV3-4/ATK 1100-1200/DEF 1100-1200)

"Alright you destroyed by Field Spell but now Water is too weak to destroy either of my monsters," Michelle said.

"True but she won't be activate I activate what I was planning on anyway so go Time Passage!" the air around Water started to warp and shift as numbers flew by. "This increase her level and by extension her attack points!" (LV4-7ATK 1200-2100/DEF 1200-2100) "Destroy Drill Barnacle!" Water spun her staff and fired a blast of high pressure water. Drill Barnacle seemed to be trying to resist only to be blown to pixels.

**(Alexandria: 6700) - (Michelle: 7200)**

"Alright I finally inflicted some damage," Alexandria grinned.

"Good work," Michelle said.

"I'll end my turn with a face down," the Spellcaster duelist said as the air around Water returned to normal. (LV7-4/ATK 2100-1200/DEF 2100-1200)

"Big Jaws attack Water!" Big Jaws dove underwater and swam forward with amazing speed.

"Reveal face down card Slip of Fortune!" Water smirked as she vanished into a void causing Big Jaws to bite air. "It negates your attack and removes Water from play until the next Standby Phase."

"I'll use my Temple's effect to remove Big Jaws from play!" the shark swam into the temple but not before seeming to smirk at Alexandria.

"I'll end my turn and my Big Jaws comes back in defense mode," the only thing Alexandria saw of the shark was its fin circling around in the water.

"Water comes back and then Dark's effect activates increase her level by one," Water floated onto the field as her sister started to glow. (LV5-6/ATK 2000-2400/DEF 2000-2400) "I'll release Water to bring out one of my favourite monsters the Dark Magician Girl!" Water disappeared and in a flurry of hearts the blond apprentice Spellcaster floated onto the field. (LV5/ATK 2000/DEF 1700)

"Whoa I'm kind of surprised you have a card as rare as she is," Michelle gasped.

"My Fortune Ladies are rare themselves Josh got most of them," Alexandria explained. "The only ones I had before were Fire and Wind."

"Dark Magician Girl blast her Big Jaws with your Dark Burning Attack!" the apprentice raised her staff and fired a ball of pink energy at the shark.

"Reveal Negate Attack!" a swirling barrier appeared causing the energy to bounce off harmlessly.

"Alright I'll end my turn," Alexandria said.

"Meet my Geomancer of the Ice Barrier!" a woman wearing light blue robes and holding an octagonal mirror jumped onto the field. (LV3/ATK 800/DEF 1200) "I tune my level three, Geomancer with my level three, Big Jaws…!"

"_Sealed away in days long past this beast awakens to unleash its frozen rage upon the land! Come forth the false Dragon! Synchro Summon, Brionic, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!"_

Geomancer jumped into the air with Big Jaws swimming through the air behind it. She transformed into three Synchro gates that surrounded Big Jaws. A blast of intense cold struck the field as a large creature that seemed to be sculpted out of ice with a large serpentine body descended onto the field. (LV6/ATK 2300/DEF 1400)

"Oh crap," Alexandria gulped.

Much to her surprise instead of a powerful roar Brionic lowered its head until it was level with Michelle. She gave it a gentle pat. "Good to see you again boy it's been much too long," she cooed.

"What the Hell you're petting one of the most famous Synchro monsters in existence as if it was a puppy!" Alexandria shouted.

"If I had to hazard a guess I'd say it's my conection to water that allows me to pet him like this but I'm not totally sure," Michelle said rubbing the back of her head. "I activate Terraforming and it allows me to take a Field Spell from my Deck and add it to my hand, no points for guessing."

The stone city rose up again but the water level didn't change at all. (LV6-5/ATK 2300-2500/DEF 1400-1600) "Destroy Dark with Frozen Roar!" Brionic opened its mouth and let out a roar causing both Alexandria and her monsters to cover their ears. Dark screamed as she started to freeze over completely before shattering.

**(Alexandria: 6600) - (Michelle: 7200)**

"I'll end my turn," Michelle said.

"I'll move Dark Magician Girl to defense mode and end my turn with a face down card," the Spellcaster duelist said.

"I summon Oyster Meister!" a thin creature with oysters covering various parts of its body jumped out of the water. (LV3-2/ATK 1600-1800/DEF 200-400) "Oyster Meister destroy her Dark Magician Girl!" the think Fish yanked a shell of its back and tossed it at the blond Spellcaster.

"I activate Magician's Selection this negates your attack and destroys your weakest monster!" a glowing disk covered in rune appeared causing the shell to fly in. The disk spun around launched the disk back at Oyster Meister shattering it.

"Well he may be gone but he leaves behind a gift in the form of an Oyster Token in defense mode," a large oyster floated out of the water where the Fish had been standing. (LV1/ATK 0-200/DEF 0-200)

"Brionic avenge your fallen comrade!" Brionic roared again freezing Dark Magician Girl solid. "I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"Before you end your turn I activate Call of the Haunted to revive Dark!" from the water the purple clad Fortune Lady appeared. (LV5/ATK 0-2000/DEF 0-2000) "And since it's now my Standby Phase she grows even stronger!" (LV5-6/ATK 2000-2400/DEF 2000-2400)

"I'm guessing you have a way to power her up?" Michelle asked.

"Of course I'm equipping her with Wonder Wand!" a wooden wand with a skull like face near the top and topped with a round green gem appeared in Dark's free hand. (LV6/ATK 2400-2900/DEF 2400) "Destroy Brionic with your Dark Feint!" Dark threw her staff and the wand forward unleashing a beam of black energy at Brionic shattering him.

**(Alexandria: 6600) - (Michelle: 6800)**

"Dark's effect activates and I'll bring back Water allowing me to draw two more cards," Dark waved her hand and the blue haired Fortune Lady burst out of her namesake. (LV4-3/ATK 0-1100/DEF 0-1100) "Destroy her Token!" Water blasted the mollusc with a torrent of liquid annihilating it.

"I'll end my turn," Alexandria said.

"I activate Giant Trunade to blow all Spell and Traps back to our hands!" a powerful gust of wind slammed blowing away the cards in the back row. (LV3-4/ATK 1100-1200/DEF 1100-1200) "Now I activate Surface and it allows me to bring back a level three or lower Fish, Sea-Serpent or Aqua monster like my Big Jaws in defense mode!" the shark with the blade on its back appeared on yet again.

"I'm getting really sick of that monster," Alexandria grumbled.

"Next I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the grinning jar appeared in the center of the field and both girls drew. "Then I'll summon Blizzard Knight Frost!" a chilling wind blew over the field causing Alexandria to shiver as a person covered from head to toe in shining white armour walked onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 1400)

"I tune my level four, Blizzard Knight Frost and my level three, Big Jaws….," Michelle began.

"_The second seal has been broken and the howling roar of this mighty beast can be heard from the top of the highest mountains! Synchro Summon, awaken the true Dragon! Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!"_

The white knight jumped into the air becoming four green rings. Big Jaws swam into the sky and into the rings again becoming orange framework. Another huge blast of cold struck the field and again Michelle seemed unaffected. Another creature that seemed to be carved out of ice crashed onto the field. It was much larger than Brionic with four legs and giant wings. It roared at the sky before lowering its head and allowing Michelle to pet it. (LV7/ATK 2500/DEF 1700)

"So you can pet both of the Ice Barrier Dragon?" Alexandria asked.

"Something like that," Michelle grinned. "I activate his effect and discard a card from my hand to the Graveyard to freeze Dark!" Gungnir opened its maw and breathed a beam of cold encasing Dark in a block of ice before smashing her to pieces with his tail.

"Wait can't you destroy two cards?" the Spellcaster duelist wondered.

"I can but I'd rather keep the rest of my cards," Michelle explained. "I'll set two cards face down and activate A Legendary Ocean Again!" the stone buildings appeared behind Michelle for the third time as the water rose again. (LV4-3/ATK 1200-1100/DEF 1200-1100) (LV7-6/ATK 2500-2700/DEF 1700-1900)

"Ugh I'm really starting to get annoyed every time that happens," Alexandria groaned.

"Gungnir destroy Water with Frozen Spear!" a large spear of ice started to form above the icy Dragon. It smacked it with its tail sending it flying and impaling Water.

**(Alexandria: 5000) - (Michelle: 6800)**

"I'll end my turn," Michelle said.

As Alexandria went to draw one of the Water duelist's face down cards flipped up revealing the Forgotten Temple of the Deep causing the underwater ruins to reappear. "I'll end a monster face down along with two cards face down and I'll end my turn," Alexandria sighed. _"No I can't lose confidence!"_

"I summon one of the most well known creatures in my Deck The Legendary Fisherman!" another shark burst out of the water but this one had a man with dark skin and wild hair carrying a spear riding on its back. (LV5/ATK 1850/DEF 1600) "He isn't effected by Spell cards and you can't selected him as an attack target so long as I control Umi."

"That card looks so old," Alexandria said.

"It is it's the one my grandfather used," Michelle said. "After Battle City Joey Wheeler gave it back to my Grandfather along with Fortress Whale the first for obvious reasons and this guy cause of how much it meant to my grandfather and cause it's kind of weak outside of a Water based Deck."

"Fisherman attack her face down monster!" the man tossed his weapon at the face down revealing another Apprentice Magician.

"I activate my monster's effect and set another Spellcaster!" another face down monster appeared on Alexandria's side in a flash of light.

"Gungnir attack it!" the Dragon launched another frozen spear stabbing Alexandria's last Apprentice Magician.

"I'll activate it again!" Alexandria shouted as another face down card appeared.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Michelle said.

"I'll flip my face down card up revealing my Old Vindictive Magician and since he was flipped one of your monsters dies like Gungnir!" the elderly mage appeared and fired a beam of light from his staff.

"Reverse card open!" Michelle cried. "Destruction Jammer negates your attempt to destroy Gungnir and destroys your Spellcaster!" a clear shield appeared around Gungnir blocking the beam and sending it back to the mage blowing him to pixels.

"Great, that plan just went down the crapper," Alexandria sighed. "I'll summon Magician's Valkyria!" the Dark Magician Girl look alike jumped onto the field and gulped at the sight of Gungnir. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 1800) "Then I'll end my turn with two face down cards but first I'll activate Foolish Burial allowing to send a monster from my Deck to the Graveyard."

Just as Michelle went to draw Alexandria's face down card flipped up. "I activate Call of the Haunted and I'll use it to bring back my other Valkyria!" the ground burst open and an identical Spellcaster appeared. Both of them nodded to each other.

"I'm guessing you ditched her with Foolish Burial but you seem to have forgotten about something," the water duelist said.

"What do you….," Alexandria started to ask before it dawned on her. "Gungnir's effect, crap I totally forgot about it!"

"Yep and I'll use it to destroy both Valkyrias!" Gungnir breathed two beams of cold freezing the hapless Spellcasters solid.

"Gungnir attack her directly!" the Dragon roared as another frozen spear appeared and flew at Alexandria.

"I activate my face down card The Way Things Once Were!" Alexandria shouted as everything froze.

"Alright what is going on?" Michelle asked.

"Simple my Trap card can only be activated during the turn when a monster I control was destroyed by card effect. Any monsters destroyed by card effect are brought back in the modes they were in!" in a burst of light the Valkyria twins appeared and gave Alexandria a thumbs up.

"Good move and since a replay occurred I can't really do anything so I'll just end my turn," Michelle said.

"I activate Magician's Unite!" the Valkyrias both smirked and raised their staves. "This can only be activated when I control two or more Spellcasters in attack mode, one of them has their attack changed to 3000 until the end of the turn and the others can't attack!" a circle covered in runes appeared behind the Spellcasters causing them to glow. (LV4/ATK 1600 = 3000/DEF 1800)

"Powered up Valkyria attack Gungnir with Luminous Spell!" both the teenage Spellcasters threw their staves forward unleashing a powerful beam of light. Gungnir tried to fight back only to be blown to pixels.

**(Alexandria: 5000) - (Michelle: 6500)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down," the circle and the glow faded returning the Spellcasters to their normal level of power. (LV4/ATK 3000 = 1600/DEF 1800)

"I'll simply pass," Michelle said.

Alexandria drew and cocked an eyebrow in confusion. _"I don't get it does she think I don't know I can attack her directly. That face down can't save her she would've used it to save Gungnir."_

"Valkyria one attack her directly!" one of the Spellcasters fired a bolt of light at Michelle but she only grinned as her face down card flipped open.

"Reveal Tornado Wall!" several swirling masses of wind appeared on Michelle's field blocking the attack. "As long as I have Umi in play I take no damage from your attacks."

"Just great," the Spellcaster duelist sighed. "I'll move my other Valkyria into defense mode and call it a turn," the Spellcaster knelt down and shield herself with her staff.

"I summon Codarus!" a small Sea-Serpent burst out of the water with a hiss. (LV4-3/ATK 1400-1600/DEF 1200-1400)

"Wait is that Levia-Dragon – Daedalus?" Alexandria asked.

"He will be after he's taken to Suijin in a temple in A Legendary Ocean," Michelle explained. "But he'll lose control of his powers and total the city and go into self exile. After that he'll meet the mighty Spiral Serpent who will teach him the ways of controlling a destructive power causing him to evolve once more."

"Becoming Neo-Daedalus," Alexandria gulped.

"Correct and I'll activate Codarus' effect and destroy my Forgotten Temple that I'm betting you forgot about," Michelle chuckled.

"That was just painful," Alexandria muttered a drop of sweat rolling down the back of her head.

"Oh well Codarus can now destroy two of your cards like your Spellcasters!" the Serpent roared as the water started to churn and the ruins crumbled to dust. The two Spellcasters shielded themselves but where blown away by a wave. "Fisherman and Codarus attack her directly!"

The man tossed his spear at Alexandria only for it to bounced off harmlessly. "That was my Defense Draw so the damage is reduced to zero and I get to draw a card," she explained.

"Not bad but can you do it again!" Codarus spewed a blast of water that slammed into Alexandria causing her to grunt and stumble back.

**(Alexandria: 3400) - (Michelle: 6500)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Michelle said as a card appeared behind Codarus.

"I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior!" a Spellcaster covered in red armour that looked similar to the Dark Magician's outfit jumped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1600-1900/DEF 1000) "When he's summoned he gains a Spell Counter and that gives him 300 more attack points but I'll give up that counter to destroy your Field Spell!" Breaker swung his sword firing a beam of energy that blew the city to rubble and caused Michelle's Trap to shatter. (LV3-4/ATK 1600-1400/DEF 1400-1200) (LV4/ATK 1900-1600/DEF 1000)

"Break destroy Codarus with Slashing Spell!" Breaker fired another sword beam cutting Codarus in two.

**(Alexandria: 3400) - (Michelle: 6300)**

"No matter how long it takes I'll defeat you!" Alexandria declared. "Oh and I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"Well I don't know if you can beat me but feel free to try," Michelle grinned.

"Fisherman attack her Breaker!" the shark riding man hurled his spear at the Break only for Alexandria to smirk.

"Reveal Rush Recklessly I hope I don't have to explain this!" a red aura started to burn around Breaker. (LV4/ATK 1600-2300/DEF 1000) He deflected the spear with his shield and then stabbed The Legendary Fisherman in the chest causing him to shatter like glass with his mount.

**(Alexandria: 3400) - (Michelle: 5850)**

"Good move I'll just set a monster and end my turn," Michelle grinned (LV4/ATK 2300-1600/DEF 1000)

"I'll activate Hand Destruction so first we both have to send two cards from our hand to the Graveyard then we draw two cards," Alexandria explained dropping two cards into her Graveyard and Michelle did the same, then both girls drew twice. "I'll release Breaker to call out a second Fortune Lady Dark! Breaker vanished and another purple clad Fortune Lady appeared in a burst of pure darkness. (LV5/ATK 0-2000/DEF 0-2000)

"Not her again," Michelle groaned.

"Oh yes and she'll be destroying your face down monster Dark Fate!" Dark fired a bolt of darkness shattering a skeletal fish with glowing eye sockets. "What was that?"

"My Abyssal Kingshark it has a very useful effect but that doesn't matter right now," Michelle explained.

"Alright I'll use Dark's effect to bring Water back!" the blue dressed Fortune Lady appeared again and she seemed annoyed. (LV4/ATK 0-1200/DEF 0-1200) "Attack her directly!" Water struck Michelle with a powerful blast of water pushing her back.

**(Alexandria: 3400) - (Michelle: 4650)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Alexandria said.

"Alright I'll activate Monster Reborn to bring Codarus back!" the small Sea-Serpent flew out of the ankh and into the water. "Now it's time he did some growing up! I release my Codarus to call out Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!" Codarus roared as its body began to stretch and grow. It grew until it was a huge Sea-Serpent with dark blue scales. (LV7-6/ATK 2600-2800/DEF 1500-1700)

"Oh crap," Alexandria gasped.

"It doesn't end there because I'm activating his effect and sending my Field Spell to the Graveyard because it's treated as Umi to every other card!" the Sea-Serpent started to glow causing the buildings behind it to shake and crumble to dust. The sea started to churn before a huge tidal wave washed over the field sweeping away almost everything. (LV6-7/ATK 2800-2600/DEF 1700-1500)

"Daedalus attack her directly with High Pressure Roar!" the massive monster opened its maw and spewed a blast of water. Much to Michelle's surprise the water just flew around Alexandria.

"Alright I'm confused what just happened?" Michelle wondered aloud.

"Well my face down was Hallowed Life Barrier so all I had to do was discard a card and you can't damage me this turn," Alexandria explained.

"That was clever so I'll just end my turn," Michelle said.

Alexandria drew and burst out laughing. "Well your mighty Sea-Serpent won't be lasting long because I'm summoning my Catoblepas and the Witch of Fate though I have to admit I'm with Josh on the fate isn't totally real thing," a large creature that Michelle couldn't identify being ridden by a tiny creature wearing purple with a wide brimmed hat. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 0)

"What is a Catoblepas?" Michelle asked.

"It's a creature with the body of a buffalo and the head of a hog that can turn you to stone if it looks at you but these two won't be around long because I'm activating Magical Dimension!" a large oddly shaped coffin rose onto the field and opened up allow Alexandria's newest monster to jump in. "I simply release my Witch and then I can Special Summon a Spellcaster monster from my hand and then one of your monsters is destroyed but you only have one so meet my Chaos Command Magician!" a Spellcaster dressed in a dark green coat with a hat similar to the Dark Magician jumped out of the coffin. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 1900)

"Goodbye Daedalus," Michelle said as the coffin fired a bolt of light shattering her only monster.

"Chaos Command Magician attack her directly with Chaos Magic!" the monster nodded and fired a beam of pure light striking Michelle in the chest.

**(Alexandria: 3400) - (Michelle: 2250)**

"Holy crap I'm in the lead!" Alexandria shouted.

"That's true but how long will you last?" Michelle asked.

"For as long as I have to," the Spellcaster duelist said. "I'll do anything to see Josh again oh and I end my turn with a face down."

"I'll activate Water Hazard and it allows me to once per turn Special Summon a level four or lower Water monster from my hand like Dewdark of the Ice Barrier!" a man dressed in dark red from head to toe with a mask over the lower half of his face jumped onto the field. (LV2/ATK 1200/DEF 800)

"I activate Encore and this card allows me to remove a Spell card from my Graveyard and until the End Phase this card's effect is treated as if it was the removed card's effect and I choose my Spellbook Inside the Pot!" both duelists quickly pulled three cards off their Decks. "Then I'll activate Premature Burial to bring back Brionic!" the ground burst open allow the frozen Sea-Serpent to burst out of the ground.

**(Alexandria: 3400) - (Michelle: 1450)**

"I'm not done I summon Blizzed, Defender of the Ice Barrier!" a large bird with light blue feathers flew onto the field next to Dewdark. (LV1/ATK 300/DEF 500)

"I tune my level two, Dewdark my level six, Brionic, and my level one, Blizzed…..!" the Water duelist began.

"_Dear Gods what is she summoning!"_ a terrified Alexandria thought.

"_Break the final seal and unleash the great destroyer! The final Dragon so that it may lay waste to all before it! Synchro Summon and turn the world into a frozen wasteland! Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!"_

Dewdark leapt into the air and transformed into two white rings much to Alexandria's surprise. One flew around Brionic and the other around Blizzed turning them see through. Another blast of intense cold struck field totally freezing the water, Alexandria was thankful it has receded. A giant three headed Dragon with dark blue scales and what seemed to be armour made of ice slowly floated down to the field. (LV9/ATK 2900/DEF 2000)

"There's a third Ice Barrier Dragon!" Alexandria exclaimed.

"Yep most people have just never seen this one, it's pretty rare," Michelle said petting Trishula which by this point didn't shock Alexandria. "Oh and Trishula has a very powerful effect allowing me to remove one card from your field, your hand and your Graveyard the hand one is random. But I'll go with, Dark in your Graveyard and your Chaos Command Magician since my monster doesn't target," all nine of Trishula's eyes started to glow and Chaos Command Magician and a card in Alexandria's hand was frozen solid and she slid them and Dark into her pocket.

"Trishula attack her directly with Frozen Glare!" the Dragon's eyes started to glow again and Alexandria was encased in ice. It melted moments later but the Spellcaster duelist was shaken.

**(Alexandria: 500) - (Michelle: 1450)**

"I'm not done I'll activate The Sealed Ones Together!" the ground started to shake and Brionic and Gungnir burst out of the ground with a mighty roar each.

"How did you bring them back and how was I frozen?" Alexandria asked.

"The card I played allows me to Special Summon Brionic and Gungnir from my Graveyard as long as I control Trishula of course I have to skip my next Battle Phase," she explained as a blue aura surrounded her. "As for the frozen thing well that's Trishula's attack and since this is a low strength Darkness Game you didn't die oh and I'll end my turn."

"_I need a miracle to win, though I don't have to win I'd rather not lose,"_ Alexandria thought._"I guess I'll talk to my Deck like Josh says, so Deck give me something good please."_

Alexandria drew and smiled. "I activate Spell Exchange and it allows me to discard three cards from my Deck and in return I can take any Spell I want from my Deck and add it to my hand!" three cards two of them monsters one a Spell slid out of her ever thinning Deck and she dropped them into the Graveyard. Moments later another card popped out of her Deck.

"One of the cards I sent to my Graveyard was called Fusion from Beyond and I can remove it and the materials for a Fusion monster from my Extra Deck then I Special Summon the Fusion monster treating it like a Fusion Summon," Alexandria explained as three cards fell out of her Graveyard. "I remove my Dark Magician Girl and Versago the Destroyer to Fusion Summon this girl!" the blond apprentice and a Fiend wearing a silver mask appeared and were pulled into a vortex behind Alexandria.

The Dark Magician Girl jumped out only she had changed. She was now dressed in dark purple armour and carried a sword bigger than she was. (LV7/ATK 2600/DEF 2100) "Meet Dragon Buster Girl!"

"Why is she dressed like Buster Blader?" Michelle wondered.

"Well this is kind of a what if card and it's if she had been trained by Buster Blader instead of the Dark Magician," the Spellcaster duelist explained. "The answer she became a slayer of evil Dragons eventually surpassing her master. She gains 500 attack points for every Dragon on the field and in the Graveyard and I see two right there!" energy seeped off of the two Dragons and into the apprentice's sword. (LV7/ATK 2600-3600/DEF 2100)

"Impressive I didn't know a card like that existed," Michelle said.

"I'm not done I activate Supremacy Berry and since my Life Points are lower than yours I gain 2000 Life Points," a white glow surrounded Alexandria.

**(Alexandria: 2500) - (Michelle: 1450)**

"Now I'll activate Diffusion-Wave Motion allowing my Dragon Buster to attack every monster you control once each at the cost of 1000 Life Points!" Alexandria explained.

**(Alexandria: 1500) - (Michelle: 1450)**

The Dragon Buster's sword started to glow and she swung her blade firing a wave of energy that slicing the Ice Barrier Dragons and Brionic to pieces.

**(Alexandria: 1500) - (Michelle: 0)**

The holograms faded and Michelle grinned. "You're a good duelist in fact you're a great duelist I'm glad I could face you," she said shaking Alexandria's hand.

"I have to admit minus the pain it was fun," she said.

Swirling portals opened behind the girls pulling them in.

Location Unknown

Michelle grinned and gently shook the young man from before. "Hey Johnathan Wake up," she said.

"Ugh what happened?" he asked holding his head which was pounding.

"You got beaten by that samurai and taken hostage so I'd be forced to duel someone," Michelle explained.

"Couldn't he have just asked," Johnathan chucked.

**Reina: So Alexandria won I'm surprised.**

**Josh: I'm not.**

**Alexandria: Where are the others?**

**Next time: Zeke meets someone he greatly admires but this person isn't like Zeke fully remembers. Don't miss Never Meet Your Heroes!**

**Original Cards**

Magician's Selection

Image: The Dark Magician standing before the Spellbinding Circle.

| Trap | Activate only when a face-up Spellcaster-Type monster you control is selected as an attack target. Negate the attack and destroy the 1 face-up monster your opponent controls that has the lowest ATK. (If it's a tie, you get to choose.)

(This card was first used by Pharaoh Atem in episode 133 of the original Yugi-oh! All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Blizzard Knight Frost

Water | Level 4 | Warrior/Tuner | 1700/1400 | If this card inflicts damage to your opponent's Life Points they take damage equal to the number of cards in their hand x300.

The Way Things Once Were

Image: An elderly person watching a black and white movie.

| Trap | Activate this card during the turn one or more of your monster(s) was destroyed by card effect. Special Summon the destroyed monster(s) in the damage battle mode they were in when they were destroyed.

Encore

Image: A magician stepping out in front of a cheering crowd.

| Quick-Play Spell | Remove Spell card in your Graveyard from play and until the End Phase treat this card's effect as the removed Spell card.

The Sealed Ones Together

Image: Brionic, Gungnir and Trishula all flying out of large ice gates.

| Spell | Activate only while you control a 'Brionic, Dragon of the Ice Barrier', 'Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier", or 'Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier'. Special Summon the other two monsters you do not control from your Graveyard. You must skip your next Battle Phase.

Spell Exchange

Image: A person handing a merchant a sack of gold for a Raigeki card.

| Spell | Discard three cards from your Deck to the Graveyard and add one Spell card from your Deck to your hand.

Fusion from Beyond

Image: The Polymerization vortex appearing above a Graveyard.

| Spell | Remove from your Graveyard cards listed on a Fusion monster in your Extra Deck and Special Summon the selected Fusion monster. (This is treated as a Fusion Summon.) You may remove this card from your Graveyard to activate its effect.

Dragon Buster Girl

Dark | Level 7 | Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect | 2600/2100 | Dark Magician Girl + Buster Blader. This card gains 500 attack points for each Dragon monster on the field and in the Graveyard. If your opponent activates a Trap card you can discard a card to negate that card's activation and destroy it.


	43. Ch43: Never Meet your Heroes

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Forty-Three: Never Meet your Heroes

Zeke sat up and looked around. Like Alexandria he had no idea where he was. He looked around and dusted himself off. He was in a museum or at least it looked like a museum.

He started to walk around but couldn't find any statues or paintings or anything you'd find in a museum. "Hello is anyone here!" he called out not expecting to hear anyone.

"Yes I'm here keep walking you'll find me," a voice said.

Zeke blinked into confusion. He started to walk again but was somewhat cautious. "That voice sounded familiar," he said.

He eventually reached a room that actually had something in it. Standing there was an older man with short black hair and a neatly trimmed beard both had some grey in them wearing a pair of brown pants a t-shirt. He was standing in front of a giant painting of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon and a Red-Eyes Black Dragon locked in combat.

Zeke walked over and looked at the name of the painting. "Power versus Potential," Zeke said.

"Young man do you know the story behind the production of these cards?" the man asked.

Zeke looked at the man and grinned. He recognized him but decided he's answer his question first. "Yes when these two were made it was said the Blue-Eyes represented power and the Red-Eyes represented potential. Isn't that right Mr. Mantle?"

The man chuckled. "Correct and in a way that is still true," the person known as Mr. Mantle said. "But you can call me Steven if you wish."

Zeke rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "Alright well why are we here?"

"We have to duel young man," Steven sighed activating his Duel Disk.

"Really you want to duel me!" Zeke asked excitedly. "Oh and my name is Zeke Kessler."

"Nice to meet you Zeke I take it you were a fan of mine?" Steven asked.

"One of your biggest," the Fiend duelist grinned. "I was sad when you retired ten years ago, but you wanted to spend more time with your family."

"Yes and I was fifty-six," Steven laughed.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

**(Steven: 8000) - (Zeke: 8000)**

"I'll let you go first," Zeke offered.

"Thank you Zeke," Steven said. "I activate Ancient Rules and it allows me to Special Summon a level five or higher monster from my hand like my signature card the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" in a burst of darkness a huge form flew onto the field. It was a thin Dragon with jet black scales, long beak like jaws and dark red eyes. (LV7/ATK 2400/DEF 2000)

"Awesome!" Zeke shouted punching the air.

"Next I'll activate Inferno Fire Blast this allows me to hit you for 2400 points of direct damage but my Red-Eyes can't attack this turn but that doesn't matter!" the Red-Eyes opened its maw and spat a ball of black and red flames striking Zeke causing him to cry out.

**(Steven: 8000) - (Zeke: 5600)**

"Ugh that really hurt," Zeke groaned. "You've got be kidding me!"

"Sorry Zeke it is true this is a Darkness Game," Steven said. "But I didn't start it."

"What do you mean?" Zeke asked.

Flashback

Steven and a young boy with dirty blond hair sat on a porch in a backyard having a table top duel. "Well Riley I activate Inferno Fire Blast reducing your Life Points to zero," Steven said.

"No fair grandpa even though you started off with 4000 Life Points I barely scratched you," the boy whined.

"Well it's good to know I'm not getting rusty," Steven chuckled. "Don't worry Riley you'll improve, you are eight after all you aren't even old enough to use a Disk yet."

"I know," the boy sighed.

Two adults walked into the backyard. A man and a woman who looked very similar to Riley walked over to and hugged the boy. "How was he dad?" she asked.

"It was good to see my grandson Sandra," Steven said.

"Mom when will I be able to use a Duel Disk?" Riley asked.

"When you turn ten like we agreed," his father said.

Everyone turned to the center of the yard where a large swirling portal had opened up. "Hello," a man in a white lab coat with greasy black hair walked out. "Hello Mr. Mantle my employer would like to request your services," he said.

"I'll have to decline," Steven said glaring at the man. "Now kindly get out of my backyard."

"That's too bad," the man said. He waved his hand and a large portal opened beneath Steven's family pulling them in much to his horror.

"What did you do with them?" he snarled.

"I kidnapped them and if you don't help my employer horrible things might happen to them, I really do prefer live subjects," the man laughed.

Present

"That guy kidnapped me and some of my friends, and Alexandria," Zeke muttered.

"Though I didn't meet his employer face to face he said I had to duel the first person I met here," Steven said. "I'm sorry it had to be a Darkness Game."

"Let's just continue," Zeke said with a scowl.

"I'll set a card face down and then I'll end my turn," Steven said.

"_Alright I'm facing down my idol and he's already kicking my ass,"_ Zeke thought. _"Well with my new cards I might be able to hold my own."_

"I'll set a monster face down and then follow that up with two face down cards," Zeke said as three cards appeared in front of him. "I'll end my turn."

"Red-Eyes incinerate his face down monster!" the Dragon parted its jaws as a ball of fire started for form.

"I activate Full Salvo!" Zeke shouted as a missile launcher appeared behind him "I discard my hand and for every card I discarded you take 200 points of damage!" three missiles flew out of the launcher and exploded on Steven's side of the field.

**(Steven: 7400) - (Zeke: 5600)**

"You're monster is still a goner," he said. The black Dragon spat its breath weapon and the fireball flew into a large blue shield filled with fire. (LV4ATK 1200/DEF 1700)

"Actually no because I'm holding no cards my Infernity Guardian can't be destroyed period," Zeke smirked.

"So that's an Infernity monster," the Red-Eyes duelist said. "I've heard of them but never seen them. Oh yes I'll end my turn."

"I activate Call of the Haunted to bring back one of the cards I ditched with Full Salvo my Infernity General!" a monster wearing black and gold armour with a long red cape and holding a sword nearly as bit as he was jumped out of the ground. (LV7/ATK 2700/DEF 1500)

"Nice armour," the older duelist grinned.

Zeke's monster seemed to like the compliment. "Don't forget right now he's kind of the enemy," Zeke told his monster who nodded. "Attack his Red-Eyes!" the armoured Infernity flew forward and slashed the legendary monster causing it to howl in pain and shatter.

**(Steven: 7100) - (Zeke: 5600)**

"Ugh I didn't feel right doing that," Zeke sighed.

"Oh don't worry my monster is coming back because I reveal my face down Red-Eyes Spirit!" black fire erupted from the spot where the thin Dragon once was. It flew out of the flames and roared at the sky. (LV7/ATK 2400/DEF 2000)

"Nice move," Zeke grinned.

"Thank you young man now what are you going to do with the rest of your turn?" Steven asked.

"I'll set a card face down," the Infernity duelist said.

"I activate Dragon Draw and since the only kind of monster I control is Dragon I get to draw twice," Steven said tearing two cards off his Deck. "I'll summon Magician of Black Dragon!" a person wearing black robes with red markings walked onto the field. (LV4/ATK 500/DEF 1800)

"He automatically moves into defense mode when I summon him," he explained as the mage crouched down and crossed his arms over his chest. "Then I'll activate his effect and increase my Red-Eyes attack points by 500 in exchange for him not being allowed to attack."

Energy started to seep off the Spellcaster and into the Dragon causing its power to increase. (LV7/ATK 2400-2900/DEF 2000) "Red-Eyes attack his General!" the Dragon roared and blasted Infernity General shattering him.

**(Steven: 7100) - (Zeke: 5400)**

"I'll end my turn," Steven said. (LV7/ATK 2900-2400/DEF 2000)

"I summon Infernity Beetle!" a small black bug with a pair of large pincher flew onto the field. (LV2/ATK 1200/DEF 0)

"I'll tune my level two, Infernity Beetle and my level four, Infernity Guardian…..," Zeke began.

"_The eternal king of the endless night spreads his wings eclipsing the moon and blanketing the word in shadows! Synchro Summon, Infernity Bat King!"_

Infernity Beetle flew into the sky and transformed into two Synchro rings. They flew around the shield causing it to become transparent. Instead of light darkness covered the field and the thin bat winged demon floated down and aimed his sword at Steven. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 1700)

"Interesting and I take it you have away to avoid your monster being destroyed?" the Red-Eyes duelist asked.

"I do and reveal face down Flames of Purgatory!" Zeke roared as black fire whipped up around the skinny Fiend as he sneered at the Red-Eyes. "Attack his Red-Eyes!"

The Bat King thrust his sword forward and the black Dragon breathed another blast of fire. The black flames snuffed out the fireball and Infernity Bat King stabbed the Red-Eyes in the chest causing it to howl in pain.

"My flames let one Infernity monster avoid destruction by battle once per turn so long as I have no hand," Zeke explained.

"Interesting," Steven said. "These Infernity monsters are certainly strange and dangerous."

"I know but I can handle them," Zeke grinned.

"_Oh can you handle us boy?"_ of voice whispered in Zeke's ear.

"Who said that?" Zeke asked quietly.

"_You know my voice boy,"_ the Infernity Queen hissed.

"What do you want?" Zeke whispered.

"_To revive our lord and master Ccapac Apu and allow him to devour the souls of all beings in all planes of existence,"_ she said. _"But for now I'll remind you we allow you to control us boy."_

Zeke waited a second but didn't hear her voice anymore. "Annoying bitch," he said nearly silently.

"Are you going to finish your move?" Steven asked.

Zeke shook his head. "Sorry about that I was lost in thought," he chuckled "I don't have any cards left so yes."

"I'll set a card face down along with a monster," Steven said.

"I summon Infernity Spearbearer!" a monster covered in black plate armour holding a nasty looking spear walked onto the field. (LV3/ATK 1100/DEF 0) "He gains 800 attack points since I'm not holding any cards." (LV3/ATK 1100-1900/DEF 0)

"Spearbearer attack his Magician!" the armoured Fiend stabbed the Spellcaster through the chest causing them to cry out and shatter.

"Bat King destroy his face down monster!" the winged Fiend slashed a Masked Dragon cleaving it in two.

"That was my Masked Dragon and since you destroyed it I'll call out my second," in a burst of fire another red and white Dragon appeared on the field shielding itself with its wings. (LV3/ATK 1400/DEF 1100)

"Death Swordsman destroy his Masked Dragon!" the coat wearing Fiend flew forward and slashed the red and white Dragon.

"I'll call out another Masked Dragon!" Steven announced.

"My monster's effect activates and since your monster was a level three you take 600 points of damage!" the swordsman flew forward and slashed Steven causing him to grunt and stumble back.

**(Steven: 6500) - (Zeke: 5400)**

"I'll end my turn," Zeke said.

"I activate Share the Pain so I release one of my monsters then you must release one of yours!" Masked Dragon exploded and then Infernity Spearbearer exploded. "Then I activate Birthright and it acts like Call of the Haunted though only for Normal monsters!" the Red-Eyes Black Dragon flew onto the field and roared at Zeke.

"I'll activate Pot of Greed!" Steven shouted as the grinning pot appeared allowing him to draw twice. "I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" the miniature tornado flew across the field blowing away the flames and shattering the Trap card.

"Crap," Zeke gulped.

"Next I'll activate Dragon's Intimidation!" the black Dragon's eyes started to glow and both Fiends stepped back with looks of fear on their faces. (LV6/ATK 2400-1700/DEF 1700) (LV4/ATK 1800-1100/DEF 1100) "I select a Dragon type monster I control and all your attack position monsters lose attack points equal to that selected monster's level times 100 until the End Phase."

"Red-Eyes Incinerate his King!" the legendary Dragon spat another dark fireball. The winged Fiend tired to block it but he was reduced to ash in moments.

**(Steven: 6500) - (Zeke: 4700)**

"I'll end my turn," Steven said. (LV4/ATK 1100-1800/DEF 1100)

"_Ugh I'm back on the defensive again,"_ Zeke thought. He looked at the card in his hand and cocked and eyebrow. "Great a card I can't use right now."

"I'll end my turn after moving my Swordsman to defense mode," the long coat wearing demon growled and crouched down shielded himself with his sword.

"I summon Black Dragon Seeker!" a blonde woman dressed in black pants with numerous pockets and wearing a black jacket with a sword slung over her back jumped onto the field and glared at Steven's most well known monster. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 1000)

"What's up with her?" Zeke wondered.

"She mistakenly believes that the Red-Eyes razed her hometown," Steven explained. "So now she wants vengeance but the crafty Dragon eludes her to this day. But if she and him are on the field at the same time she gains 300 attack points and she'd gain more if I had a Red-Eyes in the Graveyard." (LV4/ATK 1600-1900/DEF 1000)

"Seeker attack his Swordsman with Vengeful Slash!" the woman roared and swung her blade cleaving the Fiend in two. "Red-Eyes attack him directly!"

The Dragon opened its maw and readied another fireball. Much to Steven's surprise a small Fiend holding a mirror appeared and sucked the fireball into the glass before shattering and raining down motes of light on Zeke.

**(Steven: 6500) - (Zeke: 7100)**

"I'm confused what just happened?" Steven asked with a large question mark appearing above his head.

"That was my Infernity Absorber and since it was the only card in my hand I could discard it and whenever I get attacked directly this turn the damage is instead turned into gain," Zeke explained with a grin.

"Clever move," Steven chuckled. "I'll end my turn."

"I summon Infernity Necromancer!" the skeletal mage floated onto the field and shielded himself with his arms. (LV4/ATK 0/DEF 2000) "He automatically moves into defense mode when I Normal Summon him. Oh and since I have no cards in my hand I can bring back an Infernity monster like my General!" the bulky Infernity jumped out of a portal created by the Necromancer.

"General attack his Red-Eyes!" the demonic General slashed at the thin Dragon only to strike the Seeker causing her howl in pain and shatter.

**(Steven: 6200) - (Zeke: 7100)**

"Wait how come she's the one who got killed?" Zeke asked.

"Simple her desire for revenge burns too fiercely that she won't let anyone else slay the thing she views at the ultimate evil, well maybe," Steven explained. "In game terms it means she has an effect much like the Six Samurais and can take the hit for my Dragon."

"Great," Zeke sighed. "He just won't die."

"He's nearly as old as the Blue-Eyes so of course he won't die," Steven grinned. "He crafty, of course you have to be when you're not as strong as your rival in pure might."

"Well I'll give him credit for lasting this long," Zeke sighed. "Oh I'll end my turn with a face down."

"I'll set a card face down and then my General will attack your Red-Eyes!" the armoured Fiend jumped into the air his sword high above his head.

"Reverse card open!" Steven cried. "Red-Eyes Final Fury, thanks to this card my Red-Eyes will be taking your monster with it when he dies!" the black Dragon roared and flew at the General.

They met in the air claws piercing through the Fiend's armour and the sword slicing into the Red-Eyes's neck. Both monsters dropped to the ground in a heap and shattered.

**(Steven: 5900) - (Zeke: 7100)**

"I'll end my turn," Zeke sighed.

"I summon Fighter of Black Dragon!" a young woman wearing loose black pants and wraps around her hands and feet jumped onto the field and threw a few warm up jabs. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 1100) "Attack him directly!" the woman flew forward and Zeke's face down flipped up.

"I activate Sakuretsu Armor so your monster is…," the Infernity duelist began to say before he was interrupted by the spiky Fiend being punched the face by the Fighter smashing to pieces. She kept going and punched Zeke in the stomach, not particularly hard.

**(Steven: 5900) - (Zeke: 5400)**

"Any Trap that targets her is negated," Steven explained. "I'll end my turn with a face down."

"I activate Emergency Recharge and since I activated this card while I have no cards in my hand I get to draw four cards," Zeke said tearing four cards off his Deck.

"I summon Infernity Beast!" the Hellhound jumped onto the field and snarled at Steven. (LV3/ATK 1600/DEF 1200)

"I was always more of a lizard person myself," Steven said with a nervous grin.

"Sorry about this I know dogs make you nervous but he won't be around long because I'm setting two cards face down and then I'll remove my General from the Graveyard to activate his effect and since I have no cards in my hand I can Special Summon two level three, or lower Infernity monsters from my Graveyard like my Necromancer and my Beetle!" a spectral Infernity General appeared and slashed created a large tear. The skeletal mage and the insect flew out. "Of course their effects are cancelled but that doesn't matter because I'm tuning my level two, Beetle with my level three, Necromancer and Beast…!"

"_At the end of life lies only death! But when the sacrifices are offered the king of death awakens! Come forth, Infernity Death Dragon!"_

The bug flew into the air and transformed into two Synchro rings. They flew around the dog and the mage transforming them into orange framework. From the darkness appeared a hideous Dragon with black scales four eyes and arms and a stone crown. (LV8/ATK 3000/DEF 2400)

"Death Dragon destroy his monster with Death Fire Blast!" the Dragon breathed a stream of putrid flames immolating the woman instantly.

**(Steven: 4600) - (Zeke: 5400)**

"I reveal my face down card!" the Black Dragon duelist shouted as a card showing a woman wearing black robes kneeling in front of a statue of Steven's main monster her hands together. "Prayer to the Black Dragon, since you destroyed a Black Dragon monster I can Special Summon one that's level four or lower from my Deck like my Tamer of Black Dragon!" a man wearing a black vest and carrying a whip walked onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 1500)

"I'll end my turn," Zeke said.

"I release my Tamer to call out Black Dragon Channeler!" a witch doctor dressed in black wearing a headdress that resembled the wicked looking black Dragon jumped onto the field. (LV6/ATK 1800/DEF 2300) "Now I'll activate his effect and discard a card and Special Summon the one the only my Red-Eyes!" the witch doctor began to chant and in a burst of black fire the crimson eyed Dragon flew onto the field.

"He really won't die," Zeke muttered. "And don't you have three of them?"

"I do and as for how I got them, well when you're determined nothing will stop you from your quest," Steven chuckled. "Oh yes I'll end my turn with two face downs."

"_This has got to be a Trap he summoned his Dragon in attack mode,"_ Zeke thought. _"Or could it be a bluff?"_

"I'll set a monster then I'm activating my Death Dragon's effect on your Dragon!" the ugly Dragon reared its head back and belched a blast of fire.

"I activate Interdimensional Matter Transporter to remove my Dragon from the field until the End Phase," a space age machine appeared and created a large portal. The black Dragon jumped into it just as the machine vanished.

"Crap," Zeke hissed. "Alright I'll end my turn." The black Dragon appeared in a burst of light glaring at Zeke.

"I activate Blustering Winds giving my Red-Eyes a 1000 point boost to both scores!" powerful winds and electricity started to swirl and cracked around the black Dragon causing it to grow larger. (LV7/ATK 2400-3400/DEF 2000-3000)

"Red-Eyes annihilate his Dragon with Inferno Fire Blast!" the thin Dragon spat the black and red fireball. Zeke's Dragon tried to counter only to be incinerated.

**(Steven: 4600) - (Zeke: 5000)**

"Channeler attack him directly!" the witch doctor started to chant and fired a blast of energy striking Zeke in the chest causing him to skid back.

**(Steven: 4600) - (Zeke: 3200)**

"Are you alright?" Steven asked.

"I'll be fine just as long as I don't laugh," Zeke said.

"I'll end my turn and the boost from my Spell will last until my next Standby Phase," Steven explained.

"Just great," Zeke sighed. "I Special Summon my Infernity Archfiend since I drew him and I have no cards in my hand!" in a burst of dark fire the orange haired four eyed Fiend floated onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200)

"Since I just Special Summoned him and I have no cards in my hand I get to take an Infernity card from my Deck and add it to my hand like Infernity Mirage!"

"And I'll summon it!" the wicked shaman wearing a red feathered headdress floated onto the field. (LV1/ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Zero attack and defense points and you summoned it in attack mode, that doesn't bode well for me," the Red-Eyes duelist said.

"Since I'm holding no cards in my hand I can release my Mirage to bring back two Infernity monsters like my Beetle and Beast!" the shaman vanished and the black Insect and the hellhound appeared on the field. "I'll tune my level two, Infernity Beetle and my level four, Infernity Archfiend….!"

"_The binding chains of the Underworld slowly coil around the enemy strangling the life out of them! Created in a forge of hellfire this dark Machine waits in the darkness! Synchro Summon, Infernity Chain Demon!"_

The bug flew into the air and transformed into two rings. They flew around Infernity Archfiend turning him see through. The rings and stars buried themselves in the ground and moments later something burst out. It was a large robotic thing with a rectangular body a small round head with one eye and in place of arms it had long chains with large metal claws at the end. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 1800)

"Well I'll say this unlike your monsters that thing isn't ugly," Steven chuckled.

"True but I'm activating Fruit of Purgatory and since I'm holding no cards it boosts my Infernity monsters by 300 to both scores!" both monsters started to glow gold. (LV3/ATK 1600-1900/DEF 1200-1500) (LV6/ATK 2400-2700/DEF 1800-2100)

"Chain Demon attack his Channeler with Draining Claw!" the robot's one eye started to glow and it grabbed the Spellcaster and squeezed him causing him to howl in pain. But to Steven's shock his monster didn't die he was just thrown to the ground.

**(Steven: 3700) - (Zeke: 3200)**

"What just happened?" Steven wondered.

"My Chain Demon can't destroy monsters if I have no cards in my hand," Zeke grinned. "But in exchange if I battle a monster with it that monsters gains a Draining Counter. I'll remove that counter to halve your monster's attack points!" the robot's eye lit up and the witch doctor held his head and cried out in pain. (LV6/ATK 1800-900/DEF 2300-1150)

"Infernity Beast attack with Hell Howling and you're not allowed to activate any Traps until after the damage step!" the demonic Beast roared causing the Spellcaster to cry out in pain and shatter.

**(Steven: 2700) - (Zeke: 3200)**

"I'll end my turn and my Trap card wears off," the golden glow faded. (LV3/ATK 1900-1600/DEF 1500-1200) (LV6/ATK 2700-2400/DEF 2100-1800)

"Then it's my turn," Steven said as the electricity crackling along his Dragon's scales faded. (LV7/ATK 3400-2400/DEF 3000-2000)

"I summon Black Stone of Myth!" a small black egg floated onto the field. (LV1/ATK 300/DEF 250) "I tune my level one, Black Stone of Myth with my level seven, Red-Eyes!"

"_Oh shit,"_ Zeke thought realizing what was about to be summoned.

"_Born from the roaring flames of pure chaos it roars at the heavens! A being of darkness and chaos that serves good! Synchro Summon! Red-Eyes Chaos Dragon!"_

The egg transformed into a single ring. It flew around the Dragon but instead of becoming transparent the black Dragon's body was covered in red flames. It roared causing the flames to scatter. The thin Dragon was now covered in what looked like crimson armour and eyes glowed fiercely. (LV8/ATK 2900/DEF 2500)

"Oh shit," Zeke gasped. "That's your ace."

"In a sense," Steven grinned. "I activate my Dragon's one effect and negate your Chain Demon's effect, go Chaos Drain!" a red aura appeared around the infernal Machine. The evolved Red-Eyes inhaled the aura and breathed it out as mist causing the Machine to groan. "I activate Dragon Draw allowing me to draw twice since I only control Dragon."

"Next I'll activate Fallen Brothers, this allows me to select a monster in my Graveyard and send any copies of the selected monster from my hand or Deck to the Graveyard then I draw one card for each card sent," two more Red-Eyes B. Dragon popped out of his Deck and he dropped them into his Grave. "I activate Encore allowing me to remove a Spell to treat this card as the removed card like my Blustering Winds!" wind and electricity appeared around the armoured Dragon. (LV8/ATK 2900-3900/DEF 2500-3500)

"Blast his Chain Demon Inferno Chaos Flames!" the evolved Dragon breathed a jet of red and black fire melting the Machine to slag.

**(Steven: 2700) - (Zeke: 1700)**

"I'll end my turn and remember my Spell won't wear off until my Standby Phase," Steven said.

Zeke looked at the card he drew and smirked. "I activate Pot of Greed!" the grinning jug appeared and Zeke tore two cards off his Deck. "I'll set a card and then since she's the only card in my hand I'll call out Infernity Queen Shinigami by releasing my Beast!" the hound was consumed by a blast of black fire. The cloaked Infernity rose up and then glared at Zeke. (LV10/ATK 2900/DEF 2500)

"_What do you want boy!"_ she demanded.

"Well some assistance would be nice," Zeke replied.

Steven blinked in confusion. "Are you alright?"

Zeke grinned and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm alright but this card has a spirit and she doesn't seem to like me much."

"_Give your soul to lord Ccapac and I'll be happy!"_ the Fiend hissed.

"I activate my Queen's effect and remove my Death Dragon to give her a 1500 attack point boost!" a spectral version of the hideous Dragon appeared and fused with the Queen causing black fire to erupt all over her body. (LV10/ATK 2900-4400/DEF 2500) "Go Zero Cutter!" the skeletal Fiend spun her scythe around and launched it at the Dragon causing it to howl in pain and shatter.

**(Steven: 2200) - (Zeke: 1700)**

"I'll end my turn," Zeke said. (LV10/ATK 4400-2900/DEF 2500)

"You said my Chaos Dragon was my ace young man," Steven grinned. "Well I have a card I rarely ever used and I'll summon him with King's Calling!" the Red-Eyes appeared on the field and started to glow.

"I almost don't want to see this new monster," Zeke gulped.

"Come forth Red-Eyes King!" the glow faded and a human was standing in the Dragon's place. He wore finely built black armour that resembled the wicked looking Dragon, in fact he sort of resembled Lord of the Red. (LV9/ATK 2400/DEF 2000)

"So who is he?" Zeke asked.

"This is the person who once contained the Red-Eyes within them though he's more battle ready," Steven explained. "And I'll activate his effect allowing me to remove any number of Red-Eyes Black Dragons from my to add half their attack points to his!" the man raised his sword allowing it to absorb the spirits of the three Dragons. (LV9/ATK 2400-6000/DEF 2000)

"Shit," Zeke gasped.

"Attack with Dragon Spirit Slash!" the King swung his sword unleashing a huge blast of energy shaped like the black Dragon.

It smashed into Zeke's monster sending the boy flying back. "Are you alright!" Steven asked afraid he'd really hurt Zeke.

Zeke picked himself up and dusted himself off. "Actually I'm fine and still in this," he smirked.

"But how you should've taken 3100 points of damage," Steven said.

"Defense Draw is a very useful card allowing me to draw once and reduce the damage from one battle to zero," Zeke grinned. "I'm guessing your monster has a drawback?"

"Well yes but I have a way around it because normally my monster would be destroyed and I'll take 1000 points of damage for each Red-Eyes removed at the end of the Battle Phase but I activate Forbidden Chalice!" a blue aura appeared around the King. (LV9/ATK 6000-2800/DEF 2000)

"I'll end my turn with a face down," the Red-Eyes duelist said. (LV9/ATK 2900-2400/DEF 2000)

"I activate Synchro from Beyond allowing me to remove the proper Synchro Material from my Graveyard to Synchro Summon a Synchro monster in my Extra Deck and it's counted as a Synchro Summon," Zeke said. "So I'll remove my level two, Beetle, and my level three, Necromancer and Beast!"

"_Between Heaven and Hell there lies Purgatory! The burning flames used to cleanse sins form into this mighty being! Synchro Summon! Purgatory Dragon – Ogre Dragoon!"_

The spirits of the three monsters appeared and the bug turned into three green rings. They surrounded the dead mage and the hound causing them to become orange framework. Black flames erupted on the field. A large Dragon with scales like black armour and a beak like mouth flew out of the flames. (LV8/ATK 3000/DEF 3000)

"I can't attack during the turn I use my Spell so I'll end my turn," Zeke said.

"I activate Burial from a Different Dimension to return my Red-Eyes back to the Graveyard!" Steven cried as his face down flipped up. But just as it did a ball of fire smashed into it burning it to ashes.

"Sorry but my Dragon allows me to once per turn negate one of your Spell or Trap and destroy it and then he gains 500 attack points permanently," the Dragon inhaled what remained of the flames. (LV8/ATK 3000-3500/DEF 3000)

"_I'll have to thank dad for this guy,"_ Zeke thought.

"I'll move my King into defense mode and end my turn," Steven said.

"I equip my Dragon with Spirit Launcher!" a yellow glow appeared around Zeke's black Dragon. "Attack his King with Purgatory Blaze!" the Dragon breathed a blast of fire immolating the King and striking Steven.

**(Steven: 0) - (Zeke: 1700)**

"Spirit Launcher allows me to hit you with damage equal to your King's original attack points when I destroyed it but if you'd managed to destroy it my Dragon would've been banished," Zeke explained.

"Congratulations young man you are a fine duelist," Steven grinned shaking Zeke's hand.

Portals opened behind the two. "Goodbye Zeke I had fun thank you," Steven said before walking through.

"Same here," Zeke grinned.

Elsewhere

"Grandpa you're safe," Riley said hugging his grandfather.

"Good to see your safe," Steven said hugging the boy.

"What happened dad?" Riley's mother asked.

"It's an odd story," the Red-Eyes duelist said. "And I met an interesting young man."

**Zeke: It's good to be back.**

**Reina: I'm glad you're alright.**

**Josh: But all of your friends aren't back yet and we haven't even found them yet.**

**Alexandria: Vincent is up next and he faces an opponent using an odd monster and a dangerous strategy, don't miss Your Betrayal.**

**Vincent: My pay just got cut.**

**Shapesnatch: Also don't forget to check out Phase Zero another story by yours truly.**

**Original cards**

Red-Eyes Spirit

Image: The Red-Eyes Black Dragon surrounded by yellow light.

| Trap | Activate only when a face-up "Red-Eyes" monster you control, except "Red-Eyes B. Chick", is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. Special Summon that monster, ignoring the Summoning Conditions.

(This card was first used by Atticus Rhodes/Fubuki Tenjouin in episode 159 of Yu-gi-oh! GX creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Magician of Black Dragon

Dark | Level 4 | Spellcaster/Effect | 500/1800 | When this card is Normal Summoned it is automatically changed to defense mode. You may increase the attack points of a face up 'Red-Eyes' monster by 500 until the End Phase. (This card may not attack if you activate this effect.)

Flames of Purgatory

Image: A roaring wall of fire in front of Infernity Archfiend.

| Continuous Trap | Once per turn while you have no cards in your hand you may negate the destruction of a face up 'Infernity' monster you control.

Infernity Spearbearer

Dark | Level 3 | Fiend/Effect | 1100/0 | While you have no cards in your hand, this card gains 800 ATK.

(This card was first used by Kalin Kessler/Kyosuke Kiryu's manga counterpart in chapter 19 of the Yu-gi-oh! 5D's manga. All creative credit goes to writers of that chapter.)

Dragon's Intimidation

Image: Several monsters cowering before Tyrant Dragon.

| Spell | Select one face up Dragon type monster you control and until the End Phase all face up monsters your opponent controls lose attack points equal to the level of the selected monster x100.

Black Dragon Seeker

Dark | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1600/1000 | This card gains 300 attack points for every face up 'Red-Eyes B. Dragon' you control. This card gains 500 attack points for every 'Red-Eyes B. Dragon' in your Graveyard. If a 'Red-Eyes B. Dragon' you control would be destroyed you can destroy this card instead.

Red-Eyes Final Fury

Image: A badly injured Red-Eyes fighting Darkblaze Dragon.

| Trap | When a 'Red-Eyes B. Dragon' would be destroyed by battle the monster attacking monster is also destroyed.

Fighter of Black Dragon

Dark | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1700/1100 | Negate that effect of any Trap card that targets this card.

Tamer of Black Dragon

Dark | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1700/1500 | Increase the attack points of all other 'Black Dragon' monsters by 300.

Channeler of Black Dragon

Dark | Level 6 | Spellcaster/Effect | 1800/2300 | You can discard a card to Special Summon a 'Red-Eyes B. Dragon' from your Graveyard. If this card is removed from the field destroy the summoned monster. (You may not Special Summon any other monsters during the turn you activate this effect.)

Infernity Chain Demon

Dark | Level 6 | Machine/Synchro/Effect | 2400/1800 | 1 Dark Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monster(s). While you have no cards in your hand monsters this card battles are not destroyed by battle and this card cannot be destroyed by battle. Monsters this card battles while you have no cards in your hand gain a 'Draining Counter'. You may remove all 'Draining Counters' to reduce all monsters that had 'Draining Counters' to zero until the End Phase.

Fruits of Purgatory

Image: Infernity Queen Shinigami holding a golden apple.

| Trap | Increase the attack and defense points of all 'Infernity' monsters by 300 until the End Phase.

Black Stone of Myth

Dark | Level 1 | Dragon/Tuner | 300/250 | When this card is sent to the Graveyard add one 'Red-Eyes B. Dragon' from your Deck to your hand.

Red-Eyes Chaos Dragon

Dark | Level 8 | Dragon/Synchro/Effect | 2900/2500 | 1 Dragon Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters. If this card would be destroyed by card effect you may remove a 'Black Dragon' or 'Red-Eyes' card from your Graveyard to negate this card's destruction. Once per turn you may select one face up monster your opponent controls, until the End Phase that monster's effect is negated.

Fallen Brothers

Image: Two Mokey Mokeys being attacked by two Skull Servants in a Graveyard.

| Spell | Select a monster in your Graveyard. All any cards in your Deck with the same name to the Graveyard and draw one card for each card sent to the Graveyard by this effect.

King's Calling

Image: Red-Eyes King standing in a barren field.

| Spell | Activate only while you have three 'Red-Eyes B. Dragons' in your Graveyard. Special Summon a 'Red-Eyes King'.

Red-Eyes King

Dark | Level 9 | Warrior/Effect | 2400/2000 | This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by the effect of 'King's Calling'. You may remove any number of 'Red-Eyes B. Dragons' from your Graveyard to increase this card's attack points by 1200 for each. When the Battle Phase ends this card is destroyed and for each monster removed by this card's effect you take 1000 points of damage.

Synchro from Beyond

Image: Stardust Dragon rising from behind a tombstone.

| Spell | Synchro Summon a Synchro monster. (Remove from play the proper Synchro Material monsters from your Graveyard. You may not attack the turn you activate this card.)

Spirit Launcher

Image: Terrorking Archfiend firing a blast of energy at a duelist.

| Equip Spell | If the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the original attack points of the destroyed monster. When this card is removed from the field the removed the equipped monster.

Purgatory Dragon – Ogre Dragoon

Dark | Level 8 | Dragon/Synchro/Effect | 3000/3000 | 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters  
Once per turn, while you have no cards in your hand, you can negate the activation of your opponent's Spell/Trap Card and destroy it. If you do, this card gains 500 ATK.

(This card was first used by Kalin Kessler/Kyosuke Kiryu's manga counterpart in chapter 19 of the Yu-gi-oh! 5D's manga creative credit goes to the writers of that chapter.)


	44. Ch44: Your Betrayal

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Forty-Four: Your Betrayal

Vincent dusted himself off and looked around his location. "Alright this is…creepy," he muttered. He was in what looked like the destroyed remains of a city. There were puddles of red water everywhere

"I really hope that isn't blood," the white haired boy gulped. "Hello is anyone around!"

He started to walk hoping he wasn't doing something stupid. "Please someone answer me!" he called out. "I should be careful there could be cannibals or zombies around, or worse there could be ghosts."

He kept walking not finding a single sign of life. "Alright what happened here?"

"Someone answer me please!" he shouted. "This is getting me nowhere."

He looked at the buildings. He wondered it he would be able to see anyone from the top. He walked towards a building but noticed it was in pretty bad condition. "I'd better not," he said.

"Well let's hope I'm not just attracting zombies," he chuckled. "PLEASE ANYONE ANSWER ME!"

"What do you want answered?" a voice shouted.

"Where are you?" Vincent shouted.

No one responded for a moment and then a girl who couldn't have been older than the Dragon/Rider duelist walked out of one of the buildings. She wore a green skirt and a blouse covered by a lab coat. What caught his attention was her bluish hair, red eyes and pale skin.

"Nice to meet you," Vincent said. "So what happened here and who are you?"

"I am Artificial Human 001," the girl said and Vincent gave her an odd look. "This place was attacked by a powerful force and the ones who were sent to stop it failed. This creature ravaged the town but the heroes had inflicted a wound on the creature. It died after nearly wiping out the town. The puddles of red liquid are what remain of the beast and the people."

"Alright and what should I call you?" Vincent asked rubbing his head nervously.

"Call me Rei if you wish," the girl said.

"Alright…..I guess," the boy said. "You look familiar."

"I've heard that before," the girl said. "And if you want to leave this place you must duel me."

"That cool….wait what?" Vincent asked.

"I work for Sortiris and he told me I am to duel you," Rei said. "If you win you'll get to leave."

"And if I lose I'll have my soul ripped out?" Vincent asked hitting the shuffle button on his Duel Disk.

"No you'll be sent back home," Rei said. "That master just won't consider you worth his time."

"Well I don't know about proving myself to a demon but bring it!" Vincent grinned. "Oh and since I like to think of myself as a gentleman you can make the first move it you want to."

"I will," Rei said as Vincent popped a sucker into his mouth.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

**(Rei: 8000) - (Vincent: 8000)**

"I'll simply start off with a monster face down," Rei said.

"Alright I'll start off with Hydro Rider!" from a blast of water the dark blue armoured female Rider jumped onto the field. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 800) "Attack her face down monster!" the Rider let out a battle cry and stabbed what looked like a huge tomato with a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"That was Mystic Tomato and it lets me call out a Dark monster with 1500 or less attack points like my Scab Scar-Knight!" a tall monster covered in greenish armour with a fiendish appearance rose up behind Rei. (LV4/ATK 0/DEF 0)

"A four star with no attack points," Vincent gulped. "That thing must have a good effect"

"It does now do you end your turn?" Rei asked.

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Vincent said.

"I set two cards face down and I'll tell you right now if you want to try recovering Life Points don't bother Scab Scar-Knight prevents that," the red eyed girl explained. "I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."

"I should also tell you any monsters you control must attack Scab Scar-Knight if able," Rei explained. "I also activate Final Attack Orders so all monsters are forced into attack mode."

"Great," Vincent sighed. "Fine Hydro Rider attack her Scar-Knight!" the blue armoured Rider stabbed the odd looking Warrior with her trident causing it to groan and flakes of its armour to fall off and land on her.

"Hey why didn't your Life Points go down?" Vincent asked before noticing Rei's other face down had flipped up. "Ugh Spirit Barrier and this guy can't be destroyed by battle."

"So long as he remains in attack mode," Rei said.

"Alright I'll move to my second Main Phase," Vincent said and his monster's eyes started to glow. She walked over to Rei's side and Vincent noticed Scab Scar-Knight's eyes were glowing too. "Alright now what's going on?"

"Any monster that attacks Scar-Knight is affected by the Scab Curse," Rei said. "Your monster gained a Scab Counter and at the end of the damage step I gain control of any monsters that have Scab Counters."

"_Shit that means if I summon something big it'll only end up attacking me," _Vincent groaned internally. "I'll set a monster and end my turn."

"Hydro Rider attack his face down monster," the blue armoured Rider stabbed at the face down monster with her trident revealing Flame Rider. He blocked the attack with his swords and gave the female Rider a shove. "I don't take any damage and now your monster is in attack mode."

"Great," Vincent sighed.

"I'll end my turn with a face down," Rei said.

Just as Vincent went to draw Rei's newly set card flipped up. "I activate Non Aggression Area so by just discarding one card you can't summon this turn."

"Shit," Vincent hissed. "Oh well I can activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your…Spirit Barrier!" the swirling blast of wind flew across the field tearing the Trap to pieces.

"You had best hope you made the right choice," Rei said.

"You don't emote very much do you?" Vincent asked. "You've been talking the same monotone the whole duel, some guys find that cute I find it creepy."

"You're far from the first person who has told me that," Rei said. "Well you have to attack."

"Flame Rider attack her Scab Scar-Knight!" the cherry red armoured Rider slashed the strange looking Warrior with his swords and then gave Vincent a sad look despite his face not being visible.

**(Rei: 6600) - (Vincent: 8000)**

The Rider bowed his head and the giant Warrior's eyes started to glow red. He walked over to Rei's side of the field. "Don't worry you two," Vincent grinned. "I'm not upset I know it's not your fault."

"You're glaring at me but how do you even know your monsters even like you?" Rei asked.

"I don't but I trust in my Deck and my Deck responds with some great luck!" the Union duelist laughed.

"_Hmph a typical response,"_ Rei thought. "We'll see do you end your turn?"

"I'll set a card face down and then I'll end my turn," Vincent said.

"Rider's attack your former master directly!" both monsters ran forward and raised their fists as if to punch Vincent in the face. But instead the flicked him in the forehead.

**(Rei: 6600) - (Vincent: 5300)**

"Ow that didn't exactly tickle," Vincent sighed rubbing his forehead.

Rei cocked an eyebrow. "The doctor was wrong," she said softly.

"Huh did you say something?" the white haired boy asked.

"No I'll end my turn," Rei said.

"Rei why are you working for Sortiris you do know he's a demon right?" the Dragon/Rider duelist asked.

"I really didn't have much of a choice," Rei said. "You don't want to hear my story."

"Fill me in I'm all ears," Vincent grinned.

"You're going to bother me until I tell you aren't you?" Rei asked.

"Probably," Vincent said rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Fine," Rei said. "I told you I was an artificial human. It effectively means I'm a clone only I wasn't born through normal means. I was created in an artificial womb. I'm not even close to the first but I was just the first to not die before I could be born." 

"Ouch," Vincent said. "But why do you work for a demon?"

"I'm getting to that," Rei said. "I work for him because my creator the Doctor is loyal to him. If I betrayed him I'd find myself being vivisected to find out why I was a success."

"Wait what does vivisected mean?" Vincent asked. "And he really calls himself the Doctor, that's weird."

"He has a name he just prefers to be called The Doctor," Rei said. "Vivisection is cutting a creature open while they're still alive to see how they work."

"Wait that would be considered torture, that man is disgusting," Vincent gasped.

"It's mainly considered torture on humans," Rei said. "I'm not a human I'm a thing he created."

Rei thought back to when she'd first met Burei and a hologram of Sortiris.

Several years ago

Rei and Scab Scar-Knight stood before some duelist. They shivered in terror. Beside the strange Warrior was Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World and Brron, Mad King of Dark World under the control of the Scar-Knight.

"I release my three monsters!" Rei said. All three monsters vanished and a bright light appeared far in the sky above the two. "This is the Light of God and it will attack you directly!"

A beam of light shot down striking the person causing them to freeze up for a moment. Images of the most horrific moments in their life appeared before their eyes. They screamed and collapsed in a heap. Rei scowled and looked at the card. "Arael," she said softly.

The Doctor poked the person with his shoe. "Rendered comatose like all the others," he said with a sneer. "That card truly is something else."

He turned to Rei and smiled. "That was an impressive duel Rei," he said.

"Thank you," Rei said quietly.

Burei and a floating metal ring approached the two. The ring lit up and an image of Sortiris appeared. "Hello good Doctor how are you today?" the demon asked.

The Doctor kneeled and got Rei to kneel. "Good my lord," he said. "I've just finished tests on a powerful card."

"Oh yes one of those Angel series cards you had commissioned," Sortiris said. "You had them modified so they would have a realistic effect correct."

"Correct the one we just tested Arael projects images into the attack targets mind," the Doctor said. "I believe of the worst experience they've ever felt."

"Interesting," Sortiris said. "And this girl is the human you created."

"Yes it is Artificial Human Subject 001 codenamed Rei," The Doctor said.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet another employee," Sortiris said. "I'll shake your hand when I'm finally free."

The present

"Hey are you just going to stare into space all day?" Vincent asked. He had a face down monster in front of him along with another face down. "I ended my turn."

"Sorry I was thinking," Rei said.

"That's alright I guess," Vincent said with a shrug. He spat out the stick and popped another sucker into his mouth.

"I guess you think defending will help you," Rei muttered. "I activate Berserk Mode allowing me to release up to two monsters with Scab Counters on them to increase my Scar-Knight's attack points equal to the total attack points of any released monsters."

Both Riders vanished and Scab Scar-Knight's eyes started to glow. (LV4/ATK 0-2700/DEF 0)

"Oh crap," Vincent gasped.

The Warrior roared and charged forward. Ruby Rider revealed himself only to be sent flying back with a punch from the berserk Warrior. Vincent managed to jumped out of the way narrowly avoiding his monster.

**(Rei: 6600) - (Vincent: 4100)**

"That seemed kind of familiar too?" the white haired duelist said.

"I'll end my turn with a face down," Rei said. (LV4/ATK 2700-0/DEF 0)

"_I really should've destroyed Final Attack Orders,"_ Vincent groaned internally. _"I didn't know its effect worked on face down monsters that had just been flipped up."_

He looked at the card he'd drawn. "I guess I forgot to take you out of my Deck," he said quietly. He was looking at Dark Blade a very old Dark Blade, the image was faded but Vincent was happy to see him. "I activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and after a second the white haired duelist handed her two cards.

"I summon an enemy of the Rider's one who went rogue Dark Blade!" a knight wearing black armour with spikes on the shoulders and carrying two swords walked onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1500) "I'm not done I activate Roll Out and I'll use it to equip my Dark Blade with the Kiryu in my Graveyard!" a crimson Dragon with a long neck and head flew above the field and let out a loud scream. It landed beside Dark Blade and he jumped onto its back. (LV4/ATK 1800-2700/DEF 1500-2400)

"I could attack your Scar-Knight but then I'd just lose a powerful monster so instead use Kiryu's effect and release him so Dark Blade can hit you directly. Go Dive Bomb Slash!" the red Dragon flew into the air and swooped down at Rei. Dark Blade jumped off and slashed her with his swords causing her to cry out in pain and stumble back.

**(Rei: 4800) - (Vincent: 4100)**

"That might have been a bit too much Dark Blade I want to win not kill her," Vincent sighed. His monster turned to him and looked at him like he was insane. "I'll end my turn."

"I was caught off guard by that," Rei said. "I activate Infectious Wave!" Scab Scar-Knight's eyes began to glow and Scab Counters started to appear on Dark Blade much to his disgust.

"What just happened?" Vincent wondered.

"Infectious Wave allows me to infect your monster with the Scab Counters as long as I skip this turn's Battle Phase," Rei said. "So no matter what you do I'll be taking your monster and turning him against you."

"So," the Dragon/Rider duelist said.

"What?" Rei asked feeling confused. Most people tended to get angry when you took control of their monsters. This guy just grinned.

"I was taught to make the best of a horrible situation by a great person," Vincent said. "And even if my monsters are turned against me I know they still care for me, well Dark Blade might more respect me but oh well he's evil."

"But monsters are just tools," Rei said quietly. "That's what the Doctor told me most duelists think of their monsters."

"Well I say he's wrong," Vincent grinned. "Some people might see their cards as mere tools but I see them as friends."

"I'll end my turn," Rei said.

"You said there was nothing I could do and you'd get my monster," Vincent said. "Well it's time for Dark Blade to reach the next level!" the black clad Warrior was covered in a blast of purple mist.

The mist flew out in every direction allowing the new warrior to appear. He was much taller than Dark Blade and his armour had a skull theme mostly the breast plate. He held a double sided red lance and his eyes glowed yellow. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 2100) "Meet the Immortal Dark Knight!" Vincent roared and the new monster chuckled.

"I'll activate his effect and remove Kiryu from my Graveyard to destroy your Scar-Knight!" the Warrior flew forward at blinding speed surprising both the monster and the duelist. Scab Scar-Knight groaned as The Dark Knight impaled it on his lance. "And I can still attack!" he glared at Rei and was about to stab her when a clear dome appeared around her.

"I activate Draining Shield!" energy seeped off the Knight and into Rei.

**(Rei: 7200) - (Vincent: 4100)**

"Wait why'd you have that with your Scar-Knight it would've been useless," Vincent said.

"True but it was just in case you managed to destroy my Scar-Knight," Rei said.

"Alright I'll end my turn," Vincent sighed.

"I activate Star Blast and it allows me to pay Life Points in multiples of 500 and I'll only pay 500 but in exchange the level a monster in my hand is reduced by one," Rei explained.

**(Rei: 6700) - (Vincent: 4100)**

"I summon Scab-Scar Beast," a monster that looked similar to Scab-Scar Knight only this one's armour was dark red and its teeth were like needles. (LV5-4/ATK 1000/DEF 1000) It glared at Vincent and his monster. "Then I'll equip it with Mist Body and activate Scab Infection."

A shroud of mist covered the strange Warrior and a Spell appeared behind it that Vincent had never seen. It showed several monsters covered in Scab Counters all with glowing red eyes.

"I'm kind of scared to ask but what does that do?" Vincent asked.

"If you attack my monster not only will it not be destroyed but this card will gain a Scab Counter," Rei said. Vincent cocked at eyebrow at this.

"_She can likely give them my monsters,"_ he thought. "Alright I simply won't attack it, unless it has a similar effect to your Scar-Knight."

"It doesn't," Rei said. "I activate Riryoku so my Beast gains half the attack points of your Dark Knight and he loses the same amount."

Energy started to seep off the Knight causing him to fall to one knee as the red Warrior absorbed the energy. (LV6/ATK 2400-1200/DEF 2100) (LV4/ATK 1000-2200/DEF 1000)

"Destroy his Knight!" the Warrior roared and charged forward. It punched Vincent's monster launching him into the air before smashing him down with its palm causing him to shatter.

**(Rei: 6700) - (Vincent: 3100)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down," Rei said. (LV4-5/ATK 2200-1000/DEF 1000)

"I'll set a monster and a card face down and end my turn," Vincent said.

Rei drew and Vincent's face down card flipped up. "I activate Dust Tornado so your Final Attack Order's is finally gone!" the dirt filled twister flew across the field and tore the annoying Trap into pieces.

"I activate Pot of Greed," the grinning jar appeared and Rei pulled two cards off her Deck. "I release Scab Scar-Beast to bring out Scab Scar-Berserk Beast." Parts of the red Warrior's armour started to crack before breaking off allowing cylindrical devices to pop out. The Beast hissed and got down on all fours. It threw back its head and roared. (LV5/ATK 2000/DEF 1000)

"Alright that was weird and seemed oddly familiar," Vincent said rubbing his chin.

"Attack his monster," the animalistic Warrior snarled and jumped into the air. It came crashing down crushing a young looking Rider flat.

"That was my Apprentice Rider and since you just destroyed him I get to take another Rider from my Deck and add it to my hand," a card was ejected from Vincent's Deck and he grinned.

"I activate my monster's effect," the monotone girl said. "I halve its attack points until the End Phase and it can attack again."

The Beast swiped at Vincent who quickly activated his face down. "I activate Rider's Pride to reduce the damage from your attack to zero since you destroyed a Rider monster!" he shouted.

"I'll end my turn," Rei said.

"I activate Hand Destruction forcing both of us to ditch two cards and then draw two new ones!" Vincent announced before dropping two cards into the Graveyard. "Next I'll activate Monster Reborn to call out Ice Dragon!" a Dragon covered in white armour flew out of the ankh and roared at the sky. (LV7/ATK 2700/DEF 1900)

"Attack her monster with Blizzard Stream!" the Dragon breathed a stream of cold causing the Warrior to freeze solid before shattering seconds later the Continuous Spell shattered too.

**(Rei: 6000) - (Vincent: 3100)**

"I activate Divine Ascension," Rei said as her Trap flipped up. "This allows me to remove three Scab monsters in my Graveyard to call out my ace Divine Scar-Knight!" three cards fell out of Rei's Graveyard and Scab Scar-Knight appeared only there was something different about it. There was a ring of light just above its back, its eyes and parts of its armour were glowing red, and an aura of power seemed to seep off of it. (LV8/ATK 0/DEF 0)

"A level eight monster with no attack points, shit," Vincent gasped.

"I'll end my turn with a face down," the white haired boy said.

"Attack his monster AT Field Strike!" the Warrior raised its hand and several glowing blocks appeared. It roared and the blocks smashed into Dragon causing it to fly back and shatter.

**(Rei: 6000) - (Vincent: 400)**

"What….what just happened?" the Dragon/Rider duelist gasped.

"My monster cannot be destroyed by battle, all damage I should take is reduced to zero and if it attacks it automatically wins the battle and hit you for the destroyed monster's attack points in damage," the formerly monotone girl said. She was now speaking with emotion and she even sounded excited. "Of course during my next End Phase it'll self destruction wiping out my side of the field, and it has to be alone on the field in terms of monsters. I'll end my turn with a face down."

Just as Vincent went to draw Rei's face down flipped open revealing a Trap. "I activate Foolish Revival!" Rei announced. "It allows me to Special Summon a monster from your Graveyard to your side of the field in defense mode." Ice Dragon appeared shielding itself with its wings.

"Well I just need a miracle then," Vincent grinned.

"And you think you're luck will be enough?" Rei asked.

"Nope but I believe my Deck will help me out," he grinned. He looked at the card he'd drawn. "I activate Dragon Draw and since the only type of monster I control is Dragon I get to draw twice!"

Rei cocked an eyebrow as Vincent drew. He grinned when he looked at the card he'd drawn. "I activate The Final Fight and it acts sort of like Miracle Fusion only for Rider Fusions. So I'll remove, Divine Rider who I just sent to the Graveyard with Hand Destruction, Ruby, Flame, Hydro and Apprentice Rider to Fusion Summon one of my three aces!"

The five monsters appeared and flew into the air as beams of energy. They crashed tighter causing an intense light to cover the field. "I Cross Fuse my five monsters to call out the Warrior who dances in the sky…Omega Rider!" a ten feet tall robotic looking figure slowly floated onto the field. Their body was covered in gold armour with a pair of plane like wings on its back. It held a sword that was wreathed in flames. (LV9/ATK 3000/DEF 2400)

"You're monster won't end the duel," Rei said.

"Oh yes it will," Vincent grinned. "I activate Forbidden Chalice and Megamorph!" a blue aura appeared around the divine Warrior and Omega Rider increased in size until it towered over the field. (LV9/ATK 3000-6000/DEF 2400)

"Attack with Meteor Impact!" the giant monster flew into the sky and then flew down with its fist a glow. It punched Divine Scar-Knight in the chest causing the ascended Warrior to shatter into pixels and throw Rei back.

**(Rei: 0) - (Vincent: 400)**

"Are you alright?" Vincent asked the blue haired girl.

"I'm alright," Rei said standing up. "I've received worse direct attacks. And thank you Vincent I had fun."

"It was I just wish it hadn't been a Darkness Game," Vincent grinned. A portal opened behind them both and then walked through. "Goodbye Rei."

Earth

What exactly had Reina and Josh been doing since their friends had been kidnapped. Well after freaking out a bit they snapped out of it and called Security. Luckily they'd been able to talk to Trudge who had put them through to the Supernatural Squad.

Right now they were walking down the halls of the main Security building with Officer Hayashi the person who they'd been told to talk to. He had short neatly cut orange hair along with dark green eyes and dark skin.

"Where exactly are we going?" Reina asked.

"You'll see in just moment," Hayashi said. The arrived in a large room with several officers on computers, like Hayashi they all wore black coats and pants with white boots and shoulders. Some of them had odd triangular devices strapped to their hips.

"Cancellers," Josh muttered.

"What are they wearing?" Reina asked pointing to the devices.

"They're called S-Cancellers they can suppress supernatural activity in other words they can shut down a Darkness Game and they may even be able to stop a Psychic Duelist," Josh whispered.

The entered another room this time with a lone computer. Hayashi sat down and started to type. Several names and faces flashed on the screen. After a moment the faces of their friends and their names appeared on the screen. "Currently I'm connected to the network that houses the signals of all Duel Disks in the city," he said. "If your friends are here then I can find them."

He tapped at the keys but nothing came up. "Nothing," he muttered. He called someone and several minutes later another Supernatural Squad officers walked in. He was holding a device that looked kind of like a Geiger counter.

He plugged it into the computer. "We managed to pick up two signals," the officer said. "We may be able to see if anything similar is in the city."

Hayashi typed in some commands and a cursor moved over a map. It blinked and then shattered. "Alright nothing on the stronger signal," he said. Another cursor appeared and this time it stopped over a location. "Something similar to the weaker signal is at that location. The docks."

"Let's go then," Reina said.

"I need to clear this with someone higher up," Hayashi said. He called someone again and started to talk to them. "Alright the commander has said it is ok for you to come along but you have to sign a waver first."

Both teens nodded. "We don't care about the danger if it means we can find Alexandria and Reina's friends," Josh said.

**Vincent: It feels good to be back.**

**Zeke: We're almost all back together.**

**Alexandria: But what happened to us?**

**Next time Melissa face off against a powerful opponent using a somewhat familiar Deck. I'm not even going to try and hide it but it's called Heart of a Hero and don't miss it!**

**Reina: You might as well just tell them.**

**Original Cards**

Scab Scar-Knight

Dark | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 0/0 | You can only control 1 "Scab Scar-Knight". Your opponent's monsters must attack this card, if able. This face-up Attack Position card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card battles an opponent's monster, place 1 Scab Counter on it at the end of the Damage Step. At the end of each Battle Phase, take control of all of your opponent's monsters with Scab Counters. Effects that increase Life Points are negated

(This card was first used by Mr. Stein/Kouji Satou in episode 113 of Yu-gi-oh! GX creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Berserk Mode

Image: Scab Scar-Knight tearing an extremely alien looking creature apart.

| Spell | Select one face up 'Scab' monster you control. Send two monsters with 'Scab Counters' on them to the Graveyard and increase the selected monster's attack points by the total attack points of the sent monsters until the End Phase.

Infectious Wave

Image: A dark glow spreading along the ground from Scab Scar-Knight

| Spell | Place one 'Scab Counter' on a number of face up monsters equal to the number of 'Scab' monsters you control. (Monsters you control cannot attack this turn.)

The Immortal Dark Knight

Dark | Level 6 | Warrior/Effect | 2400/2100 | You may Special Summon this card by releasing a face up 'Dark Blade' you control. You may remove a 'Pitch Dark Dragon' from either players Graveyard to increase this card's attack points by 900 until the End Phase. You may remove a 'Kiryu' from either players Graveyard to destroy either one monster or two Spell or Trap cards.

Scab Scar–Beast

Dark | Level 5 | Warrior/Effect | 1000/1000 | This card gains 500 attack points for each 'Scab Counter' on the field.

Scab Inflection

Image: Several monsters with glowing red eyes following Scab Scar-Knight

| Continuous Spell | If you do not control a 'Scab' monster this card is destroyed. Once per turn you may negate the destruction of a 'Scab' monster by battle. (Damage calculation applies normally.) If a 'Scab' monster is attacked this card gains one 'Scab Counter' during your first Main Phase you may place any number of 'Scab Counters' from this card onto face up monsters.

Scab Scar-Berserk Beast

Dark | Level 5 | Warrior/Effect | 2000/1000 | If this card destroys a monster and sends it to the Graveyard you may halve this card's attack points until the End Phase to allow this card to attack again.

Divine Ascension

Image: A glowing Scab Scar-Knight floating into the sky with several red rings above it.

| Trap | Remove three 'Scab' monsters to Special Summon 'Divine Scar-Knight' from your hand, Deck or Graveyard.

Divine Scar-Knight

Dark | Level 8 | Warrior/Effect | 0/0 | This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of 'Divine Ascension'. The following effects are negated if this card's controller has any other monsters. This card cannot be destroyed by battle and any damage this card's controller would take from a battle involving this card is reduced to zero. If this card battles a monster it is automatically destroyed at the end of the damage step and the controller of that monsters takes damage equal to the attack points of the destroyed monster. During this card's controller's second End Phase after this card was Special Summoned destroy this card and every other card on its controller's side of the field.

The Final Fight

Image: Several points of light fusing into a huge robotic warrior.

| Spell | Remove from your Field or Graveyard the Fusion Material monsters listen on a 'Rider' Fusion monster and Special Summon that monster. (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon)

Omega Rider

Light | Level 9 | Warrior/Fusion/Effect | 3000/2400 | Divine Rider + Four different 'Rider' or 'Dragon' monsters. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. Once per turn you may activate one of the following effects.

Remove every 'Dragon' and 'Rider' monster in your Graveyard to increase this monster's attack points by 200x the number of monsters removed until the End Phase.

Discard every card in your hand and until the End Phase this card cannot be destroyed by battle or card effect and any monster that battles this card is destroyed at the end of the damage step. (If you activate this effect this monster is destroyed during the End Phase.)


	45. Ch45: Heart of a Hero

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Forty-Five: Heart of a Hero

Melissa looked around feeling confused. "Where am I?" she wondered. She was in a city filled with sky scrapers and other tall buildings. Unlike the place Vincent had been sent to this city was fine. Several lights were on the streets were clean but oddly no cars or people were around.

"This is creepy," she said. "I get the feeling I'm being watched."

She started to walk down the street looking behind her every few seconds. "I'm really starting to think taking up dueling was a bad idea," the Psychic duelist muttered. "I'm doubtful evil would come after me if I was building models. They're only a few shelves down. Who am I kidding there are probably evil model builders too."

She kept walking the feeling of being watched could still be felt. "Maybe I'm being too pessimistic who knows maybe I'll help save the world this time," she said. "Ugh I'm talking to myself I must be going crazy. I never realized I was this talkative."

"True you do seem to talk a lot but some people don't mind that," someone said.

Melissa swung her Duel Disk at where she assumed the person's head would be. They jumped back and held up their hands. "Hold up I'm not going to hurt you!" the shouted.

Melissa kept the Disk raised. "How do I know I can trust you?" she asked taking a few steps back.

"Well you don't but if I wanted to do something I wouldn't have spoken," the boy said. "I'm Fuyu Goto."

The boy was neither skinny nor fat he just was. His hair was shaggy and dark brown his eyes were hazel. He wore a red-shirt with a dot inside a broken circle on it along with a pair of black jeans. He wore a Disk on his arm and a Deck case on his belt.

"I'm Melissa," the brown haired girl said. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure," Fuyu said. "Some guy dressed like Great Shogun Shien's evil twin challenged me and after hammering me into the ground he told me to wait here. I've been wandering around here and we have to duel."

"I'm guessing I don't have much choice," Melissa said activating her Duel Disk.

"Nope sorry," Fuyu said. "You can have the first move."

"Duel!" they cried.

**(Melissa: 8000) - (Fuyu: 8000)**

"I'll start off by summoning Pandaborg," a robot panda walked onto the field and sat down. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 1400) "I'll finish it with two face down."

"Wait a panda is a Water Attribute monster," Fuyu said. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Well it's because….," Melissa said before stopping. "You know it doesn't make any sense."

"Alright I'll start off my turn by setting a card face down and a monster face down too," Fuyu grinned.

"Hold up before you end your turn I activate Solemn Wishes!" Melissa shouted as the Trap card activated. "Now every time I draw a card I'll gain 500 Life Points."

Light rain started to fall on the Psychic duelist.

**(Melissa: 8500) - (Fuyu: 8000)**

"I activate my other face down Emergency Teleport and it lets me Special Summon a level three or lower Psychic monster from my hand or Deck like Krebons and he'll be arriving from my Deck," the grinning harlequin appeared in a burst of 1s and 0s. (LV2/ATK 1200/DEF 400)

"Pandaborg attack his face down monster!" the grey Psychic slashed the face down monster revealing a skeletal creature wearing a black cloak.

"That was my Phantom Magician and he lets me Special Summon a Hero monster with 1000 or less attack points in defense mode," Fuyu explained.

"_He's probably bringing out Clayman,"_ Melissa thought. _"I did well on the Hero portion of card studies."_

"So meet Elemental Hero Woodsman!" a person with green skin and a right arm and leg that appeared to be made of wood jumped out and crouched down defensively. (LV4/ATK 1000/DEF 2000)

"Wait who is that?" Melissa asked.

"This is Woodsman a Nature Hero," Fuyu grinned. "The one's Jaden Yuki used are better known as the City Heroes."

"Alright I'll move to my second Main Phase and tune my level two, Krebons and my level four, Pandaborg…!"

"_Deep in the mind of humans this creature lurks and feeds on negative emotions! Waiting for the moment its host let's their guard down! Synchro Summon! Arise Psychic Nightmare!"_

Krebons laughed and fused with Pandaborg. Two rings appeared around the robot causing it to become transparent. From the light appeared a creature that could easily be mistaken for a Fiend. It had metallic blue skin and wild green hair. Demonic wings grew from its back and it was hunched over. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 1800)

"Oh dear Gods what is that thing!" Fuyu shouted.

"This is Psychic Nightmare," Melissa said. "When you go to sleep and have an especially bad dream these things are causing it. They love human emotions but the negative ones are the best, fear is the one they are best and causing."

"That isn't remotely surprising," Fuyu gulped. "How do you not find it terrifying?"

"Well when you use Psychic monsters you have to get used to the fact that some of them look kind of creepy," Melissa chuckled. "Plus one of my friends uses Infernities, ugh."

"I'll end my turn," Melissa said.

"I activate Hero's Bond!" Fuyu shouted. "Since I control and Elemental Hero I can Special Summon two more so long as their level is four or lower from my hand like Elemental Hero Heat and Lady Heat!" two burst of flames appeared on either side Woodsman. From the emerged two monsters both wearing red, yellow, orange and white body suits, one was male with his face covered the other was female with her face uncovered. (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 1200) (LV4/ATK 1300/DEF 1000)

"Whoa another female Hero," Melissa gasped. "I guess Burstinatrix's flavour text is a bit outdated."

"Yes and Heat gains 200 attack points for every Elemental Hero I control!" Heat's fists started to glow red hot. (LV4/ATK 1600-2200/DEF 1200) "I'll end my turn with a face down. And Lady Heat's effect activate and you take 200 points of damage for every Elemental Hero I control!"

The female Pyro gathered a ball of fire in her hand and lobbed it and Melissa causing her to hiss in pain.

**(Melissa: 7900) - (Fuyu: 8000)**

"I'll gain back most of that thankfully," Melissa said as the rain fell soothing her wounds.

**(Melissa: 8400) - (Fuyu: 8000)**

"I activate Psychic Nightmare's special ability and I simply have to guess what one random card in your hand is and you only have one," the Psychic duelist said. "I guess monster!"

Fuyu spun it around revealing Elemental Hero Voltic. "I've never heard of him either but since I guessed right Nightmare gains 1000 attack points until the End Phase," dark purple energy started to gather around the fiendish looking Psychic. (LV6/ATK 2400-3400/DEF 1800)

"Nightmare attack Heat with Mind Crushing Wave!" the Psychic's started to glow and the air around Heat started to ripple. He held his head and shattered.

**(Melissa: 8400) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"I activate Time Machine!" Fuyu cried. A large black chamber rose up out of the ground and Heat jumped out. (LV4/ATK 1600-2200/DEF 1200)

"I'll end my turn with a face down," Melissa said. (LV6/ATK 3400-2400/DEF 1800)

"I activate Woodsman's special ability allowing me to add Polymerization from my Deck to my hand!" a card was ejected from Fuyu's Deck and he immediately threw it into his Disk. "Then I activate it and fuse Heat and Lady Heat!"

The two heroes jumped into a swirling vortex and a new monster jumped out. The new monster was dressed in red and yellow armour with a red cape billowing behind them. (LV8/ATK 2600/DEF 2100) "Meet Elemental Hero Nova Master!" Fuyu announced. "Attack with Nova Wave!" the Fire Hero fired a wave of flames that slammed into Psychic Nightmare burning it to ash.

**(Melissa: 8200) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"First Nova Master's effect activates allowing me to draw card since he toasted one of your monsters," the Hero duelist grinned. "Then I activate De-Fusion to split him into his components!" Nova Master vanished and Lady Heat and Heat reappeared. (LV4/ATK 1300/DEF 1000) (LV4/ATK 1600-2200/DEF 1200)

"Both of you attack her directly!" the two Fire monsters hurled a blast of fire at Melissa. "Sorry about this."

"Don't be," Melissa grinned. "Go Rainbow Life so all Life Points damage this turn is changed to gain!"

A wall of multi-coloured light appeared in front of Melissa stopping the flames and healing the Psychic duelist.

**(Melissa: 11,700) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

Fuyu just stood there for a minute. "You tricked me," he gasped.

"Yep," Melissa grinned.

"I'll end my turn with a face down and Lady Heat's effect activates," Fuyu sighed. The female Hero reluctantly threw a ball of fire at Melissa further healing her.

**(Melissa: 12,800) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"I activate Teleport so now if I control no monsters I can pay 800 Life Points to Special Summon a Psychic monster like my Psychic Snail!" in a burst of electricity a strangle looking mollusc appeared on the field. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 1200)

**(Melissa: 12,000) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"Next I'll bring out Psy-Caller!" a person covered from head to toe in black armour with a pair of metal mitts on their hands jumped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1100) "I activate my Caller's effect and at the cost of 500 points I can Special Summon a level two or lower monster from my hand!"

**(Melissa: 11,500) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"Meet Sun Lion!" in a burst of flames a small yellow lion with a mane of flames and a metal cap appeared on Melissa's shoulder. (LV2/ATK 800/DEF 500)

"Wait that thing isn't a Psychic it's a Beast," Fuyu said.

"Who says my Deck has to be all Psychic you'll soon see why he fits into my Deck," Melissa grinned.

"I almost don't want to," Fuyu gulped.

"My little friend here is a Union monster who can equip to a monster like my Caller!" the lion jumped onto Psy-Caller's shoulder. "I activate my Psychic Snail's effect and pay 800 Life Points to allow another Psychic to attack twice during this Battle Phase!" the mollusc fired a bolt of energy striking the heavy armoured Psychic.

**(Melissa: 10,700) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"Caller attack Heat with Electro Punch!" Melissa commanded.

"What, but your monster will be destroyed!" the Hero duelist shouted.

The Caller threw a punch only for it to be blocked by Heat. The fiery Hero tried the strike the Psychic back only for the lion to let out a roar causing Heat to turn to stone.

**(Melissa: 10,300) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"What happened to Heat?" Fuyu asked.

"Natsu's effect it's called Harmonizing Roar," Melissa explained. "As long as Natsu remains equipped you can't destroy my Caller by battle. Though he can't destroy any of your monsters, but they receive Harmony Counters if they're attacked. Attack again!" this time the punch connected smashing Heat to rubble.

**(Melissa: 11,000) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"Alright how'd you gains Life Points?" Fuyu sighed.

"If the monster Natsu is equipped to attacks a monster with a Harmony Counter that monster is destroyed at the end of the damage step and I gain half its attack points as Life Points," the brunette grinned. "I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"I activate Woodsman's effect and retrieve Polymerization from my Graveyard!" Fuyu announced as the card fell out of his Graveyard. "Next I'll activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!"

The grinning jar appeared and both duelists drew three times. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon so kiss Natsu goodbye!" the tornado flew across the field shattering the loin.

"I activate Polymerization fusing the Voltic in my hand and the Woodsman on the field to call out Elemental Hero Gaia!" a Hero in a metallic blue suit appeared and along with Woodsman was pulled into the fusion vortex. A titanic form stomped out of the swirling void. This Hero towered over the field and was covered in black armour. (LV6/ATK 2200/DEF 2600)

"And Gaia takes half of one of your monster's strength until the End Phase and I'll go with Psychic Snail!" energy started to flow off the mollusc and into the holes on Gaia's bracers. (LV4/ATK 1900-950/DEF 1200) (LV6/ATK 2200-3150/DEF 2600) "Gaia attack Psychic Snail with Continental Hammer!" Gaia punched Psychic Snail crushing it flat.

**(Melissa: 8800) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Fuyu said. "Of course that means you get blasted by Lady Heat." (LV6/ATK 3150-2200/DEF 2600)

**(Melissa: 8400) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

Rain fell on Melissa increasing her Life Points further.

**(Melissa: 8900) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"I release Psy-Caller to bring out Final Psychic Ogre!" the electric Psychic vanished and what looked like a large gorilla with gold rings on its arms and legs stomped onto the field. (LV5/ATK 2200/DEF 1700) "I can guess what one of those face downs is so I'll force you to use it Ogre attack Lady Heat!" the bestial Psychic snarled and lunged at the Hero.

"Go Hero Barrier and since I control an Elemental Hero monster your attack is negated," a blue shield appeared and blocked the attack causing the fur covered Psychic to snarl.

"Yep I was right," Melissa chuckled. "I activate Graceful Charity!" the angel appeared and Melissa handed her two cards.

**(Melissa: 9400) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"Argh that's what annoys me about Psychic duelists," Fuyu groaned.

"I take it you mean my recovering Life Points?" Melissa asked and Fuyu nodded. "I get that a lot."

"Well continue on," the Hero duelist said.

"I activate Monster Reborn to bring back my Psychic Commander!" the uniformed Psychic floated onto the field. (LV3/ATK 1400/DEF 800) "Alright I'll tune my level three, Psychic Commander and my level five, Final Psychic Ogre!"

"_Deep within the mind sleeps the Id demon! It burst forth to cause mayhem and destruction! Synchro Summon, awaken Thought Ruler Archfiend!"_

The tank riding Psychic grinned wider and flew into the air becoming three Synchro rings. They surrounded the Ogre turning into orange wireframe. From the light appeared a skeletal fiendish monster. (LV8/ATK 2700/DEF 2300)

"I'm not done yet I activate Psychic Overload allowing me to return three Psychics from my Graveyard to my Deck and then draw twice," Melissa explained. "I return Psychic Snail, Krebons and Psychic Commander!" the three monsters fell out of her Graveyard and she added them back to her Deck and hit the shuffle button.

**(Melissa: 9900) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Melissa said.

"I move Gaia and Lady Heat into defense mode and end my turn," Fuyu said as Lady Heat gathered another fireball in her hands.

**(Melissa: 9500) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"That is starting to get mildly annoying," Melissa said.

**(Melissa: 10,000) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"She's back up to ten-thousand," Fuyu groaned.

"I've gotten to double this once," Melissa grinned. "That was a long duel."

"Thought Ruler destroy Gaia with Psionic Blast!" the former Archfiend king pointed causing Gaia to clutch his head and shatter.

**(Melissa: 12,200) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"I'll end my turn," Melissa said.

"I activate my face down card Fusion Trade!" Fuyu shouted. "I can return a Polymerization or a card with Fusion in its name from my hand to my Deck to add another card fitting the same criteria to my hand! I'll add my Polymerization to get Miracle Fusion!"

He slide the card into his Deck and hit the shuffle button. A second later another card popped out and he threw it into his Duel Disk. "I activate Miracle Fusion allowing me to remove monsters from my Graveyard to create an Elemental Hero Fusion like The Shining with Voltic and Woodsman in my Graveyard!" the two named Heroes appeared as ghosts and then jumped into the air creating a burst of light.

A Hero dressed grey with what looked like a giant gold upside down M on his back with four points along each leg. True to his name he emitted a great deal of light. (LV8/ATK 2600/DEF 2100) "He may not look strong right now but he gains 300 attack points for each removed Elemental Hero," the light the Hero was emitting started to grow brighter forcing Melissa to cover her eyes. (LV8/ATK 2600-3200/DEF 2100)

"I move Lady Heat into attack mode then I'll have Shining destroy your Thought Ruler with Optical Stream!" the silver clad Hero raised his hand and fired a blast of pure light. The former Fiend tried to fight it only to be wiped out.

**(Melissa: 11,700) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"Lady Heat attack her directly with Blazing Wall!" the Pyro Hero waved her hand unleashing a wall of fire on Melissa.

**(Melissa: 10,400) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"And since I'm getting really tired of you recovering Life Points I activate R – Righteous Justice allowing me to destroy Spell and Traps equal to the number of Elemental Heroes I control. So I'll destroy your Teleport card and Solemn Wishes!" a burning R appeared above Fuyu. The two cards exploded into flames.

**(Melissa: 10,000) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"I'll end my turn," he said as Lady Heat blasted Mel again.

"I summon Krebons!" the familiar harlequin appeared in a burst of ones and zeros.

"Is that the same one?" Fuyu asked.

"No idea I have two of him," Melissa said. "I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"Lady Heat attack!" the female Hero unleashed another wall of fire.

"I activate Krebons' effect and pay 800 points to negate your attack!" a wall of blocks appeared and pushed back the fire before disintegrating.

**(Melissa: 9200) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"Shining your up!" the silver Hero fired another beam at the digital clown only for it to be blocked.

**(Melissa: 8400) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down," Fuyu said.

**(Melissa: 8000) - (Fuyu: 6800)**

"I summon Mind Protector!" a monster covered in golden armour with unusually large hands floated onto the field. (LV3/ATK 0/DEF 2200)

"I tune my level two, Krebons and my level three, Mind Protector!" Melissa shouted.

"_With armor of steel and a soul of light, grant the forces of good energy to fight on! Synchro Summon Magical Android!"_

Krebons laughed and fused with Mind Protector. The rings surrounded the robot causing it to become transparent. From the light appeared a woman with red hair down to her waist. She wore silver and gold armour and carried a staff that sort of looked like a sword. (LV5/ATK 2400/DEF 1700)

"Android wipe out Lady Heat with Psychic Energy Surge!" the Android raised her staff and fired a blast of energy that consumed Lady Heat.

**(Melissa: 8000) - (Fuyu: 5700)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Melissa grinned. "And I gain 600 Life Points for every Psychic monster I control."

Melissa started to glow as did the Synchro monster.

**(Melissa: 8600) - (Fuyu: 5700)**

"This duel might last a while," Fuyu groaned.

"So Fuyu who are you exactly?" Melissa asked.

"As in why am I here?" he Hero duelist asked.

"Yes but I also mean where are you from?" Melissa wondered.

"Well I'm from Hiroshima," Fuyu said. "I've never known my parents. My older brother has looked after me since I was very little about three I think. But recently he's been very sick."

"And you can't support yourself I take it," Melissa said and Fuyu nodded.

"Ya he was always a kind of sickly guy," Fuyu said. "But he came down with pneumonia and hasn't been able to work. We've had help from some of his friends but I'm still worried he might die, so when someone told me they would help him I jumped at the opportunity. I started to dislike it when I found out what I'd have to do."

Several days ago

Fuyu was sitting down in the apartment he shared with his brother. "Chikao why aren't you getting any better," he sighed.

He heard a knock on the door. The teen walked over to the door and looked through the peep hole. He saw Burei standing their in full armour. "Who are you!" Fuyu shouted.

"Someone who can help your brother," the samurai said. "Let me in."

"Sorry buddy but I'm not stupid," Fuyu said.

"Very well," Burei said taking a few steps backwards. Fuyu's eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he noticed the older man was getting ready for a kick.

He jumped out of the way as Burei's foot smashed into the door. Another kick knocked the door off its hinges. Burei stepped in and saw a terrified Fuyu with a knife in hand. "Stay back I'm not afraid to us this!" he screamed. "HELP SOMEONE!"

"Everyone on this floor and several floors are fast asleep," Sortiris' right hand man said. "I simply wish to talk Mr. Goto."

"You just kicked down the door why should I believe you!" Fuyu screamed.

"True and that can be repaired," Burei lifted the door up and Fuyu heard him mutter something. The door seemed to put itself back into place much to the scared teen's shock.

"Alright well thank you I guess but how do I know you can help my brother?" Fuyu asked.

Burei walked over to Fuyu and pulled up his hand which had a few recent wounds. "You're a clumsy cook," he said. He muttered something. Fuyu's hand started to tingle and the cuts started to heal over.

Fuyu looked at his hand. It tingled a bit but the pain was gone. "Whoa," he gasped.

"And someone who works under me could easily heal your brother," Burei said. "Duel me. If you win your brother will be healed and you'll never see me again. Lose and you'll face one opponent of my choosing in a Darkness game, then your brother will be healed."

"I don't have much of a choice I guess," Fuyu said grabbing his Disk and slipping it onto his arm.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

Several turns later Fuyu was thrown back and crashed into the ground as his Life Points dropped to zero. "Ugh that really hurt," Fuyu groaned.

A portal opened under him pulling him down. "You must be instructed on what you are to do," Burei said.

End flashback

"So that's why I'm here," the Hero duelist said. "I have not idea if they'll keep their word but what choice to I have?"

"You don't but I understand," Melissa said. "Let's continue on. It's your turn."

"Alright Shining attack her monster!" the Hero raised his hand preparing to fire another burst of energy.

"Go Shadow Spell!" chains burst out of the ground and ensnared the silver clad Hero. "It cannot change battle mode, attack and it loses 700 attack points." (LV8/ATK 3200-2500/DEF 2100)

"I'll set a card face down along with a monster and end my turn," Fuyu said.

"I activate Psychic Tuning allowing me to revive a Psychic monster in my Graveyard and to treat it as a Tuner so welcome back Pandaborg!" the metal panda jumped out of the card.

"I tune my level four, Pandaborg and my level five, Magical Android!" Melissa shouted.

"_The ultimate perfection of technology blasts its way through any obstacle, with a sleek form surging with pure power! Synchro Summon and open fire Hyper Psychic Blaster!"_

Pandaborg jumped into the air and transformed into four Synchro rings. They surrounded the Android causing her to become wireframe. From the light appeared the tall Psychic robot and Melissa's spirit partner. (LV9/ATK 3000/DEF 2500) A red aura surrounded Melissa causing her to cringe.

**(Melissa: 7000) - (Fuyu: 5700)**

"Wait what just happened?" Fuyu wondered.

"When Psychic Tuning leaves the field I take damage equal to the level of the monster I summoned times 400," the Psychic duelist explained. "Blaster destroy The Shining with Psychic Beam Barrage!"

"Understood," the robotic Synchro said. It fired its blasters annihilating The Shining.

**(Melissa: 7000) - (Fuyu: 5200)**

"I'll end my turn," Melissa said.

"I set a monster and a card face down and end my turn," Fuyu said.

"Blaster attack his monster!" the robot fired its weapons unleashing a wall of energy.

"I activate good old Negate Attack!" the swirling barrier appeared and blocked the attack.

"Alright I'll end my turn," Melissa said.

"I flip my face down Elemental Hero Knospe face up!" a Hero who was a large flower with two arms that were also flowers and a face on the main bulb. (LV3/ATK 600/DEF 1000)

"Alright he's kind of cute," Melissa chuckled.

"Knospe is actually a girl," Fuyu explained. "I get that a lot though. I summon a second Elemental Hero Heat!" another yellow and orange Hero jumped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1600-2000/DEF 1200)

"And I'm not done because I activate Mask Change!" Heat started to glow and struck a pose. "It allows me to give up a Hero I control to call out a Masked Hero Goka!"

"Henshin!" the Hero duelist shouted. Red energy covered Heat and then started to take form. The new Hero wore red armour with flared shoulders and an aura of fire around him. (LV6/ATK 2200/DEF 1800)

"So what can he do?" Melissa asked. "Or is it a he?"

"He gains 100 attack points for each fallen Hero I have in my Graveyard," Fuyu grinned. (LV6/ATK 2200-2700/DEF 1800) "And I believe Goka is a male."

"Knospe attack her directly with Seed Cannon!" the Plant Hero aimed and fired a barrage of seeds at the brunette.

**(Melissa: 6400) - (Fuyu: 5200)**

"Not only can Knospe attack you directly but she gains 100 attack points at the cost of 100 defense points," Fuyu explained as Knospe was surrounded by a green aura. (LV3/ATK 600-700/DEF 1000-900) "And you can't attack Knospe while I control another Hero."

"I must admit the level of teamwork Heroes show is amazing," the Psychic duelist grinned. "But Reina's monsters are similar."

"Gem-Knights are the same," Fuyu said. "Oh and I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"Just tell me that isn't a Trap," Melissa sighed.

"Alright it isn't a Trap," Fuyu said.

"_Is it shrink, no he would've used it on his turn,"_ Melissa thought. _"He has two other face down cards maybe he needed several to beat Hyper Psychic Blaster."_

"Blaster attack Goka!" the Psychic fired its laser attack striking the Hero.

"I activate my face down Bye Bye Damage and Hero's Calling!" Fuyu shouted. "The first prevents Goka from being destroyed and hits you for double the damage!" some of the beams bounced off Goka and crashed into Melissa's side.

**(Melissa: 5800) - (Fuyu: 4900)**

"And I'll call out Elemental Hero Ocean with the effect of my Hero's Calling!" a blue Hero wielding a two pronged staff with a fin on his head appeared in a burst of water. (LV4/ATK 1500/DEF 1200)

"I'll end my turn with a face down," Melissa said.

"I activate Ocean's effect and add Lady Heat back to my hand and then I'll summon her!" in the red headed Hero appeared in a burst of fire. (LV6/ATK 2700-2600/DEF 1800)

"Next I'll activate Heroes Unite!" the picture showed Heat, Lady Heat and Terra Firma flying at Tragoedia. "This allows me to select a face up Hero monster and then add the original attack points of every other face up Hero monster I control to its attack points. But only that Hero can attack and it can't attack directly. I choose Goka!" the other Heroes stood behind the Masked Hero. (LV6/ATK 2600-6200/DEF 1800)

"Attack Hyper Psychic Blaster with Hero's Combination Kick!" the four Heroes flew at the mechanical Synchro foot first. They punched a hole in its chest causing it to groan and shattered.

**(Melissa: 2600) - (Fuyu: 4900)**

"I activate Damage Gate!" Melissa shouted. "This allows me to Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard with attack points equal to or less than the damage I just took so guess who is back!" Hyper Psychic Blaster jumped out of a portal behind Melissa.

"Alright I'll end my turn," Fuyu said as Lady Heat blasted Mel again. (LV6/ATK 6200-2600/DEF 1800)

**(Melissa: 1800) - (Fuyu: 4900)**

"I activate Trap Booster and discard a card to activate Assault Mode Activate from my hand!" a pillar of light. The light faded and the Assault Mode monster rose up floating behind its duelist. (LV11/ATK 3500/DEF 3000)

"Oh crap," Fuyu gulped.

"I'm not quite done yet because I activate Psychic Full Assault, this card allows me to attack every face up monster you control so long as I destroy the monster that attacked during my End Phase and take damage equal to its attack points," Melissa explained.

"My monster's first target is Goka!" the advanced Psychic fired a rain of lasers vaporising Goka. "And you take damage equal to Goka's defense and I gain Life Points equal to his attack points."

**(Melissa: 2600) - (Fuyu: 1800)**

"Attack…!" Melissa began.

"Wait stop!" Fuyu shouted placing his hand over his Deck. "I give up!"

**(Melissa: 2600) - (Fuyu: 0) (Surrender)**

The holograms faded and both duelists breathed a sigh of relief. "That was kind of fun," Melissa said.

"Yep you know Psychic's pretty well," Fuyu said with a grin as a portal opened behind him.

"You're no slouch either," Melissa said walking through the portal that had opened behind her. "Goodbye Fuyu."

"Goodbye," the Hero duelist said.

Hiroshima

Fuyu was back in his apartment. He looked around and saw everything was normal. He heard the door phone and his brother walked in. "Brother!" he shouted.

"Fuyu where the Hell have you been!" Chikao yelled. "The neighbours said you vanished!"

"I'm sorry but I was forced to duel someone in a Darkness Game so you'd be healed," Fuyu said. "How long have you been out of the hospital?"

"A couple of days," he said. "But I nearly had a heart attack when I found you you'd gone missing. I'll have to call the police and we'll have to explain this."

**Melissa: Well I'm glad this is almost over.**

**Sortiris: Yes but my plans are far from complete yet.**

**Burei: Master are you sure letting 'her' loose was a good idea?**

**Sortiris: No I'm not but this should be amusing.**

**Sortiris: Next time Robert faces a demon much like my self, one far stronger than I. It's called Wicked Light don't miss it or I'll find you.**

**Reina: Great now he's in here.**

**Original cards**

Psy-Caller

Earth | Level 4 | Psychic/Effect | 1800/1100 | When this card is summoned you can pay 500 Life Points to Special Summon a level two or lower monster from your hand.

Sun Lion

Fire | Level 2 | Beast/Union | 800/500 | Once per turn you may equip this card to a monster you control or Unequip and Special Summon this monster in face up attack position. As long as this card remains equipped to a monster that monster cannot be destroyed by battle. (Damage still applies normally.) Any monster the equipped monster battles is not destroyed by battle and instead gains a 'Harmony Counter'. If a monster with a 'Harmony Counter' is attacked it is destroyed at the end of the damage step and this card's controller gains Life Points equal to the half the attack points of the destroyed monster.

(This card is based off of Natsu a Vongola Sky Lion from Reborn! All creative credit goes to those guys and girls.)

Bye Bye Damage

Image: A red beam striking something with two yellow arrows one pointing up and one down on it.

| Trap | Activate only when an Attack Position monster you control would be destroyed by battle. During this turn, that monster cannot be destroyed by battle, and if you take any Battle Damage involving that monster, your opponent takes twice the Battle Damage you took.

(This card was first used by Yuma Tsukumo in episode 1 of Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.)

Hero's Calling

Image: The shadow of Elemental Hero Avian covering a thug with a bat and an injured person in the background.

| Trap | When an 'Hero' monster you control is attacked you may Special Summon a level four or lower 'Hero' from your Deck in attack mode.

Heroes Unite

Image: Elemental Hero Heat, Lady Heat and Terra Firma flying at Tragoedia.

| Spell | Select a face up 'Hero' monster you control. That monster gains the original attack points of every other face up 'Hero' monster you control until the End Phase. (The selected monster is the only monster allowed to attack this turn and cannot attack directly.)

Psychic Full Assault

Image: Ultimate Axon Kicker attacking a horde of Vilepawn Archfiend lead by a Shadowknight Archfiend.

| Spell | Select one face up Psychic type monster you control. That monster may attack every monster you opponent controls once each this turn. (The selected monster is the only monster allowed to attack this turn and during the End Phase it is destroyed and you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's original attack points.)


	46. Ch46: Wicked Light

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Forty-Six: Wicked Light

(Some of the cards in this chapter are based off of characters owned by Square Enix and Disney. Creative credit goes to them.)

While the others were wandering around the places they'd woken up in Rob was a large house in the middle of thunderstorm. Oddly enough the power was working but most of the lights were off.

"Alright this seems like the perfect setting for a horror movie," Rob gulped. "I keep expecting to see Freddy Kruger."

He noticed a room at the end of the hall was lit up. "My gut says something is waiting for me in there," he muttered. "I guess I've got no choice."

He walked to the room and found a girl who looked no older than twelve years old sitting on the bed in the room leaning against the wall.

"Hello," Rob said.

"Hello," the girl said.

"I'm Robert Hogan and you are?" the Black

"I'm Louise nice to meet you," the girl said.

"Alright any idea why you're here?" he asked.

"Nope," Louise said. "Well sort of…"

Rob started to feel cold and sick. "What…are you?" he hissed.

"I'm pissed that's what," Louise said. "I take it you can feel it. Normally I try and act like I'm an innocent child until it's too late. But I could tell you could feel that I wasn't fully human."

"What are you?" Rob asked.

"I'm a collector of souls, a tempter, a demon as it would stand," the girl sneered. "The person who let me out was a demon as well but a species I thought were long dead."

"Sortiris let you out!" Rob shouted.

"Yes and I'll have to thank him," Louise smirked. "I'll find out more about him then I'll send him down to Hell for further study."

"So you two haven't formed some kind of alliance?" Rob wondered.

"Ha, I'm a soul collector we work alone," the demon said. "Some stupid mortal wants love fine! Another wants power alright. I can give it to them but in the end they'll never get to enjoy it! So what is it you would like boy?"

"Nothing from you," Rob snarled.

"Well how about a duel then?" Louise proposed. "Win and I'll spare your life. Lose and well you'll be burning in Hell forever!"

"I never thought evil could be so melodramatic," Rob sighed. "I don't have a choice do I?"

"If you want to avoid eternal damnation then no," Louise said. She gestured and a Disk made of glowing metal appeared on her arm, seconds later a Deck appeared in the slot.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

Elsewhere

"Master do you believe it was wise to free her?" Burei asked.

"I don't but this should be amusing," Sortiris said.

"But not to insult you Master but she is stronger than you," Burei said nervously.

"I know," the male demon scoffed. "I have plans for her one way or the other. In all honesty I'm rooting for the human on this one."

"Since I assume you're a gentleman I take it you don't mind if I go first?" Louise asked.

"Go ahead," Rob said.

**(Louise: 8000) - (Rob: 8000)**

Louise drew and grinned. "Perfect," she said. "I summon Keyblade Wielder – Sora!" in a burst of light a boy with spiky brown hair wearing a pair of black shorts and a black hooded vest. He glared at the person who summoned him (LV4/ATK 1600/DEF 1400)

"Any particular reason your monster clearly hates you?" Rob wondered.

"I'd have to say because he would likely kill a creature like me," Louise sneered. "In all honesty this isn't my true Deck, I asked my boss to send me one."

"Alright continue with your move," Rob said.

"I activate my monster's effect and add then equip him with Keyblade – Kingdom Key!" in a flash of light a large key with a silver 'blade' and a yellow guard. (LV4/ATK 1600-1900/DEF 1400-1700) "I'll end my turn with two face down cards."

"I summon Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame!" in a burst of blue fire the thin Blackwing burst onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200) "Next I'll activate Void Summoning!"

"Alright never heard of that one," Louise said.

"I let's me remove a Dark monster in my Deck from play to Special Summon another from my Deck with a lower level," Rob explained. "So meet Fane the Steel Chain!" a smaller Blackwing wearing a mask over its face flew onto the field. (LV2/ATK 500/DEF 800)

"Fane attack her directly!" the ninja like bird flew into the air and unleashed a rain of kunai stabbing the demon

**(Louise: 7500) - (Rob: 8000)**

"That really hurt," Louise hissed. "I'll make you suffer for that!"

"Not if I send you back to Hell first," Rob said with a smirk. "Oh and thanks to Fane Sora will be moving to defense mode."

The teen held up his weapon ready to block the next attack that came his way. "Shura sic him!" the skinny Blackwing slashed the boy causing him to groan and shatter. "Ugh that felt wrong," Rob groaned.

"I activate Shura's effect and Special Summon a monster with 1500 or less attack points and it's effect is negated so meet Vayu the Emblem of Honor!" a smaller bird wearing a black jacket and wooden sandals floated onto the field. (LV1/ATK 800/DEF 0)

"And since his effect is negated I'll tune my level one, Vayu my level two, Fane and my level four, Shura!"

"_These dark wings will soar to the greatest heights of all! An ally of the darkness who can control the fiercest of creatures! Synchro Summon and blow them all away! Blackwing Tamer – Hawk Joe the Pitch Black!"_

Vayu turned into a single Synchro gate. Both Blackwings flew through it causing them to turn see through. A burst of darkness covered the field. The monster that appeared looked nothing like the other Blackings. It was a man with bird like features like a talon like right hand a pair of wings on his back. He was dressed similarly to an indigenous person at least those in the media. (LV7/ATK 2600/DEF 2000)

"I activate his effect and call out Shura from my Graveyard!" Joe waved his hand and Shura appeared yet again. "And don't think about attacking him you'll have to go after Joe."

"Oh yes I'll end my turn with two cards face down," Rob smirked. "So bring it demon!"

"You should've attacked with Vayu you moron," Louise sneered.

"Shut up and go," Rob hissed.

"Oh am I making the stupid human angry," Louise sneered. "I activate Call of the Haunted!" Sora burst out of the ground and dusted himself off.

"I should've realized videogame heroes never stay dead," Rob sighed.

"I activate his effect but I won't equip the card I got from him right away and instead I'll call out Companion Donald!" the famous Disney character Donald Duck walked onto the field. He wore a blue jacket and a blue cap. He looked at Sora and both of them grinned and nodded. (LV4/ATK 1500/DEF 1300) (LV4/ATK 1600-200/DEF 1400) "And now I'll fuse with them!"

Sora started to glow and he and Donald were engulfed in a burst of light. The light faded and only Sora stood or floated as it was. His clothes were now mostly blue with some black with a flame design on the legs and sleeves. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 1600)

"Now his effect activates and I have to roll a six sided die," a large dice appeared above the field. It skipped and bounced before coming up with two. "Now he gains two Drive Counters one of which be removed during my End Phase." A large number two appeared next to Sora.

"And I'll equip him with Keyblade – Brightcrest!" another key sword appeared in Sora's hand. This one had a blade shaped like water with a star at the top in the center of a crashing wave. (LV6/ATK 2400-2800/DEF 1600) "It gives its wielder 200 attack points for every other Spell or Trap I control."

"Attack Joe with your Thundaga!" Sora threw his hand up and bolts of lightning crashed down on the Blackwing causing him to howl in pain and shatter.

**(Louise: 7500) - (Rob: 7800)**

"I'll end my turn," Louise sneered as the number beside Sora dropped to one.

"I'll set a monster and move Shura into defense mode then end my turn," Rob said.

"I guess you're not so confident now are you," the demon laughed. "I summon Keyblade Wielder – Riku!" a young man with silver hair and wearing a white vest with a black shirt underneath and a pair of purple pants. (LV4/ATK 1800-2000/DEF 1600) "And he has the same effect his friend does so I'll add and equip him with the Way to Dawn!" a Keyblade with the blade shaped like a bats wings and an angelic wing for a tooth appeared in Riku's hand. (LV4/ATK 2000-2500/DEF 1600-2100) (LV6/ATK 2800-3000/DEF 1600)

"A level four monster with those kind of stats, crap," Rob gulped. "Your Deck does have one huge flaw."

"The fact that I have four cards in my back row I know," Louise said. "It doesn't matter."

"Riku slay his Shura with Dark Firaga!" the silver haired boy fired a ball of black fire that struck Shura causing the Winged-Beast to cry out before he was consumed by the fire. "Sora destroy his face down with Blizzard!" the blue clad boy raised his weapon and fired a large shard of ice. It smashed into the face down revealing Mistral the Silver Shield.

"I Special Summon Brisote the Tailwind since two of my Blackwings were destroyed this turn!" a Winged-Beast with an odd body shape and a human face flew onto the field. (LV5/ATK 1200/DEF 1800)

"I'll end my turn and since my monster is now out of Drive Counters Sora and Donald are back," Wisdom Sora vanished in a burst of light and the boy and the duck appeared. Sora was ready to fight Donald was crouching down and shielding himself with a staff with a classic witches hat on the top. (LV4/ATK 1600-2000/DEF 1400)

"I end my turn," Louise sneered. "Let's see what you've got bird boy."

"I Special Summon Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind!" the small green headed Blackwing flew onto the field with a scream. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 400)

"Next I'll call out Elphin the Raven without a release because I control at least one other Blackwing!" a large grey Winged-Beast flew onto the field and screamed at Louise. (LV6/ATK 2200/DEF 1200) "And I choose not to activate his effect. But I will activate Gale's and I'm targeting Riku!" the smallest Blackwing flapped his wings buffering the older boy. (LV4/ATK 2500-1250/DEF 2100-1050)

"Now I'll tune my level three, Gale and my level five, Brisote!" Rob shouted.

"_These dark gales give rise to the wings that soar with resolved hope! Synchro Summon, Soar, Black-Winged Dragon!"_

Gale took off into the sky with Brisote right behind. He turned into three Synchro rings that surrounded the strange looking Winged-Beast causing Brisote to turn see through. From the light appeared the bird like Dragon with a loud roar. (LV8/ATK 2800/DEF 1600)

"Black-Winged Dragon attack Riku with Noble Stream!" the black Dragon breathed a stream of red and black energy causing Riku to cry out before shattering. (LV4/ATK 2000-1800/DEF 1400)

**(Louise: 5950) - (Rob: 7800)**

"Elphin attack Sora!" the Raven slashed Sora causing him to groan and shatter.

**(Louise: 5550) - (Rob: 7800)**

"Man I felt really bad about that," Rob muttered. "I'll end my turn."

"Hold on before you do I activate Door to the Light allowing me to revive two Keyblade Wielder monsters!" a huge door appeared behind Louise and the two Warrior's jumped out. Both turned back and glared at their duelist. (LV4/ATK 1600-2000/DEF 1400) (LV4/ATK 1800-2000/DEF 1600)

"I equip Sora with Oathkeeper and Riku with Oblivion!" a white key sword with the teeth shaped like the kanji for light appeared in Sora's hand and a black on with the teen shaped like the kanji for darkness appeared in Riku's. (LV4/ATK 2000-2600/DEF 1400) (LV4/ATK 2000-2600/DEF 1600)

"And I'm not done because I'm going to complete the trio with Keyblade Wielder – Kairi!" a girl with shoulder length red hair wearing a pink mini dress. She looked at Sora and smiled causing the teen to smile back. Riku cleared his throat and both of them snapped to attention. (LV4/ATK 1400-1800/DEF 1200) (LV4/ATK 2600-2800/DEF 1400) (LV4/ATK 2600-2800/DEF 1600) "And thanks to Kairi's effect I can equip her with Keyblade – Destiny's Embrace!" a Keyblade with a ring of flowers for teeth appeared in the girl's hands. (LV4/ATK 1800-2100/DEF 1200)

Rob's eyes were nearly bugging out of his head. "No way," he said quietly.

"Sora attack Elphin!" the brown haired teen slashed the Winged-Beast causing him to shatter in an explosion of pixels.

**(Louise: 5550) - (Rob: 7200)**

"I activate Rush Recklessly and I'll use it on Riku so he can destroy your Dragon!" a flame like aura appeared around Riku. (LV4/ATK 2800-3500/DEF 1600) He rushed forward and delivered a flurry of slashes causing Rob's ace crash into the ground and shatter.

**(Louise: 5550) - (Rob: 6500)**

"Kairi attack him directly!" the red head charged with her weapon ready. Rob braced himself for the attack but was surprised when the girl gave him a shove not a slash.

**(Louise: 5550) - (Rob: 4400)**

"Too bad I was hoping she'd cut you to ribbons," Louise sighed. "Oh well turn end." (LV4/ATK 3500-2800/DEF 1600)

"I'll set a card face down along with a face down monster and then I'll end my turn," Rob said.

"Kairi attack his face down!" the red head rushed forward her weapon raised.

"Reverse card open Malevolent Catastrophe!" a roaring wind smashed into the field destroying the weapons the three teens held. (LV4/ATK 2800-2200/DEF 1400) (LV4/ATK 2800-2200/DEF 1600) (LV4/ATK 2100-1800/DEF 1200)

"My face down was Dummy Marker so I get to draw once," Rob smirked.

A dark purple bird with no legs appeared shielding itself with its wings. (LV4/ATK 600/DEF 1800) Kairi summoned up a duplicate of the sword she'd just been wielding and slashed at the Winged-Beast only for it to dodge.

"Riku kill it!" Riku fired a ball of black flames at the monster burning it to a crisp.

"Sora you…!" Louise shouted only to be interrupted by the appearance of Joe. "Where'd he come from?"

"The monster you just destroyed was named Calima the Haze and I can remove her from the Graveyard to bring back a Synchro monster until the end of the Battle Phase at which point it'll be removed," Rob explained.

"Fine I'll end my turn," the demon growled. "You're only delaying the inevitable."

"Really you couldn't think of something less clichéd," Rob scoffed as Joe vanished in a cloud of mist. "Am I going to rue the day next?"

"I'm going to kill you slowly boy," Louise hissed. "Just make your move!"

"I summon Blackwing – Nina the Chilling Chain!" a small humanoid bird girl with dark blue feathers holding a length of blue chain. (LV2/ATK 1000/DEF 600) "I activate her effect and send her to the Graveyard to Special Summon a removed Blackwing monster to say hello to Joe again!" Niña threw her weapon into a large black void. Joe flew out and glared at Louise.

"I activate his effect allowing me to Special Summon a level five or lower Blackwing from my Graveyard so Shura is back!" the skinny Blackwing flew onto the field. "Shura attack Donald!" Shura's claws ignited and he slashed Donald causing him to groan and shatter and causing Rob to cringe. (LV4/ATK 2200-2000/DEF 1400)

"I activate his effect and summon Breeze the Zephyr!" a pink Winged-Beast with yellow-orange wings flew onto the field. (LV3/ATK 1100/DEF 300) "Joe attack Sora!" the Blackwing Tamer slashed Sora causing the hero to grunt in pain and collapse. Riku and Kairi looked horrified. (LV4/ATK 2200-2000/DEF 1600) (LV4/ATK 1800-1600/DEF 1200)

**(Louise: 4950) - (Rob: 4400)**

"Alright I feel really bad for doing that," Rob said. "I'll tune my level three, Breeze and my level four, Shura!"

"_These blazing gales will soar to heaven and beyond! Burning a path towards tomorrow! Synchro Summon, come on! Blackwing – __Nino the Searing Wave!"_

Breeze took off and transformed into three Synchro rings. Shura flew into them turning into an orange wireframe version of himself. A burst of black and red fire covered the field as a new Blackwing descended. It looked like he was made of fire with a head like a falcon but a somewhat humanoid body. He held a silver cannon in its talons. (LV7/ATK 2600/DEF 1800)

"I'll end my turn with a face down," Rob said.

"I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the grinning jug appeared and both duelists drew three times. "Next I'll release Kairi to bring out Keyblade Wielder – Terra!" the girl vanished and was replaced by a tall man with brown hair wearing a black shirt and brown hakama pants. (LV6/ATK 2600/DEF 1900)

"I activate his effect and equip him with the card I got the Earthshaker!" a brown Keyblade with pick shaped teeth. (LV6/ATK 2600-3300/DEF 1900) "Attack Joe with Sonic Shadow!" the older Keyblade Wielder roared as he was engulfed in an aura of darkness. He flew forward right through the bird man.

**(Louise: 4950) - (Rob: 3700)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down," Louise said.

"Nino attack Riku with Flame Bazooka!" the burning Synchro aimed his weapon and unleashed a burst of fire immolating the younger Keyblade Wielder. The fire kept going and smashed into the demon causing her to howl in pain.

**(Louise: 4250) - (Rob: 3700)**

"How'd I take extra damage?" Louise demanded.

"Nino will hit you for 300 points of damage for every Blackwing I control when he inflicts battle damage," Rob explained. "I'll end my turn with a face down monster."

"I summon Companion – Goofy," another famous Disney character appeared. This one was an anthropomorphic dog with black fur he was wearing a pair of light brown pants and a green shirt with a grey vest overtop. He held a shield in front of him. (LV4/ATK 1200/DEF 2000) "I'm not done because I activate my face down Keyblade's Will!" Sora appeared in a burst of light. He turned to Goof and grinned, the dog grinned back. (LV4/ATK 1600-2000/DEF 1400)

"I'll fuse them together!" Sora and Goofy were both engulfed in a sphere of light. It vanished and when it faded Sora was now wearing a red version of his outfit. He held out his hands and the Kingdom Key and a Keyblade with a crescent moon and a star in the center appeared in his hands. (LV6/ATK 2400/DEF 1600) A dice appeared and rolled across the ground. It came up a two. "Ugh I'm having bad luck today," the demon growled.

"Terra destroy Nino!" the older Warrior flew forward but much to Louise's surprise Nino blocked Terra's sword with his cannon. He gave the Warrior a kick sending him skidding back.

**(Louise: 4250) - (Rob: 3000)**

"How?" the Keyblade duelist hissed.

"Once per turn while I only control Winged-Beast type monsters Nino can't be destroyed," Rob laughed. "You should try to calm down you look like you're about to lose it."

"I will flay you alive!" Louise roared. "I'll end my turn with a face down!" the number beside Sora changed to a one.

Rob drew and Louise started to laugh and Rob gulped. "I hate to ask but what's so funny?"

"You've impressed me human," she said. "So I'll show you something few get to see, my true form!"

Her limbs started to stretch with a painful popping sound. Her skin started to glow and she threw back her head and shrieked. When it was all done Louise had grown to over eight feet now. Her skin emitted a yellowish glow and seemed to be made of metal. Her face was narrow and skull like with sharp teeth and glowing purple eyes. She had a pair of bat like wings sticking out of her back and a thin tail with a triangular tip. "So how do I look?" she asked in a slightly deeper voice.

"Ugh what are you?" Rob asked.

"A demon stupid," Louise laughed. "Not all of us look like this."

"Thank God," Rob said.

"Shut up and make your move," Louise snarled.

"Alright I'll just set a face down and end my turn," Rob said.

"I equip Sora with Bond of Flame!" the odder looking Keyblade was replaced with a red and silver key sword with a half of a red and silver chakram for teeth. (LV6/ATK 2400-2800/DEF 1600-2000)

"Terra attack!" the brown haired man flew forward only for his attack to be blocked again. This time he jumped back before Nino could land the kick.

**(Louise: 4250) - (Rob: 2300)**

"Sora you're next!" the boy rushed forward and unleashed a flurry of slashes cutting Nino down.

**(Louise: 4250) - (Rob: 2100)**

"Oh and Sora can attack a second time so die!" Sora bowed his head and leapt into the air his weapons above his head.

"I'm not dead yet I activate Synchro Spirits and I remove Nino!" Breeze and Shura appeared shielding themselves with their wings.

"Sora kill Breeze!" Sora slashed the pink Winged-Beast causing her to cry out and shatter. "I'll end my turn."

Sora vanished in a flash of light and Goofy and regular Sora appeared. (LV4/ATK 1600-2000/DEF 1400)

"I activate Star Blaster and pay 500 Life Point to lower the level of a monster in my hand by one," Rob said as a red aura appeared around him.

**(Louise: 4250) - (Rob: 1600)**

"I summon Sirocco the Dawn!" a larger bird man with dark blue head feathers flew onto the field. (LV4/ATK 2000/DEF 900) "And since I control another Blackwing I can Special Summon Bora the Spear in defense mode!" the spear wielding Blackwing swooped down onto the field and glared at the demon. (LV4/ATK 1700/DEF 800)

"I activate Sirocco's effect and add the attack points of all other Blackwings to him!" Bora and Shura held up balls of energy and tossed them to Sirocco causing him to grow several times his normal height. (LV4/ATK 2000-5500/DEF 900)

"Attack Terra with Dark Wing Slash!" Sirocco dove down and slashed Terra with his claws. He grunted and shattered like glass. (LV4/ATK 2000-1800/DEF 1400)

**(Louise: 2050) - (Rob: 1600)**

"I'll end my turn," Rob said. (LV4-5/ATK 5500-2000/DEF 900)

"I release Goofy to call out Keyblade Wielder – Roxas," Goofy vanished and a boy with light brown hair spiked to the right side wearing a white jacket unzipped over a black jacket and pants that were beige on the lower half and dark green on the upper half. (LV6ATK 2300-2600/DEF 1450-1750) (LV4/ATK 1800-2000/DEF 1400)

"And I fuse them!" Sora was again covered by a sphere of light as was Roxas. When it vanished Sora was alone on the field and his outfit was silver and he seemed to be floating off the ground. The Oathkeeper and Oblivion floated just behind him. (LV8/ATK 2800/DEF 2000) "Meet Final Form."

"Sora attack Sirocco!" Sora literally flew forward and without actually grabbing his weapons slashed Sirocco several times causing the largest bird man to fly backwards before shattering.

**(Louise: 2050) - (Rob: 800)**

"I activate his first effect and attack Bora!" Sora blasted Bora with several bolts of lightning vaporizing him.

"I'll end my turn with a face down," Louise sneered. "Oh and I should tell you Sora can attack directly you'll just take half the damage."

"I activate Card of Demise!" Rob shouted. "I activate Call of the Haunted to revive Sirocco!"

Sirocco burst out of the ground and shook the dirt off himself. "I'm not done because I activate Monster Reborn and I'll revive a monster in your Graveyard Sora!" the regular form of the spiky haired boy appeared from the ankh. (LV4/ATK 1600-1800/DEF 1400)

"Shit," the demon hissed.

"I activate Official Member and equip it to Sora treating him as a Blackwing," a bracelet with a wing design appeared on Sora's wrist. "Now I activate Sirocco's effect and target Sora!" the two Blackwings tossed the energy at Sora causing him to grow huge. (LV4/ATK 1800-5600/DEF 1400)

"Sora end this!" the Kingdom Key appeared in Sora's hands. He swung it slicing his doppelganger in two and slashing Louise causing her to scream in pain and fly back.

**(Louise: 0) - (Rob: 800)**

Louise stood up and she looked angry. "Well you won good for you," she said. "But I hope you've made peace with yourself because I'm going to kill you now."

Rob backed up right into a wall. "Shit, shit, shit," he said.

"Do you have any last words?" Louise asked raising her claws.

"How about goodbye," a voice said.

Louise turned her head and noticed Sortiris standing next to a portal. "You," she said. "What do you want?"

"To seal you back up what else," the male demon said. Five chains flew out of portal and grabbed Louise.

"No I won't go back there I'm finally free!" she roared as she was pulled closer to the swirling hole in space. "Why'd you let me out if you planned to seal me back up."

"To test out him," Sortiris said pointing to Rob. "Goodbye Louise maybe in a century your boss will finally find you. Or not I moved your little home making it harder to find. Enjoy eternal darkness!"

"You bastard I'll kill you!" Louise roared before she was pulled back into her prison.

Rob slumped against the wall with a sigh. "You saved me," he said.

"I still needed you," he said. "You proved your worth to me. Good job."

"_What does that mean?"_ Rob wondered. He didn't notice he was being pulled into a portal.

"Goodbye Robert we'll see each other again," Sortiris said.

Elsewhere

Officer Hayashi on a Runner along with two other Security members in a car with Reina and Josh following closely rode down to the docks.

"Are we sure we should bring those kids along?" one of the officers in the car asked the other.

"They'll be waiting quite far away from the place we suspect their friends are just in case," he said.

They arrived just near the docks. "Alright you two stay here with Daishi while Egami and I check out the warehouse your friends where your friends are supposed to be," Hayashi said.

Reina and Josh looked about ready to protest but a look Hayashi shot them made them back down. The two officers walked towards the building in question and noticed the doors were wide open. "I'll check it out sir," Daishi said.

The lower ranked officer drew his gun and walked towards the warehouse slowly. He leaned around slightly to look into the door. He saw Reina's friends and Alexandria lying on the floor of the warehouse. He gave the ok signal and Hayashi approached. "They're in there I take it?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Daishi said. "But they may be injured. We should call for an ambulance."

Hayashi nodded and did just that. "It will take them some time to get here," he said. "I'm going to check it to see if it's safe."

"Are you sure sir?" Daishi asked.

"Yes," Hayashi said. He slowly walked into the building checking to see if anything was amiss. He walked over to the teens and checked their pulses. "They're breathing that's good."

"Hello," a voice said.

Hayashi looked up to see Sortiris and Burei standing right next to him. "What the…?" he started to ask only to fall unconscious.

"Good work Burei," Sortiris said. He walked to Daishi who reached for his gun.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm Sortiris," the demon told him. "Oh and goodnight."

"What?" Daishi wondered as he felt asleep. Sortiris caught him and put him down.

"Don't want you to hurt yourself," he said.

"Put your hands above your head and move away from Daishi!" Egami shouted. He was pointing his gun at Sortiris' head.

"Alright, alright," Sortiris sighed raising his arms up. "Goodnight officer."

Before Egami could question what that meant he started to feel sleepy and passed out backwards. Josh and Reina rushed out of where they were hiding and caught him.

"Is he alright?" Reina asked.

"I think he's asleep," Josh said. He placed the officer down and both teens glared at Sortiris. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you two," Sortiris said.

"What why?" Reina asked.

"I was wondering if you two wanted to go for some ice cream with me," Sortiris sneered.

"Cut the crap," Josh snapped. "Just let us get our friends and be on our way."

"Technically they're my friends and your girlfriend," Reina said.

"I consider Zeke my friend I don't mind Mel either," Josh said.

"If you want to see your friends follow me," Sortiris said walked back to the warehouse.

Both teen looked at each other. "Hold on," Reina said pulling a card out of her Side Deck. Rose Fairy appeared and flew up to Reina. "Please go check if my friends are in that warehouse."

The Plant nodded and flew to the building. She came back minutes later and nodded. "I guess we don't have much of a choice," Reina said sliding the card back in with the others.

The two walked into the warehouse and ran up to their friends. "They're alive!" Josh exclaimed.

"Indeed I had no intention of killing them," Sortiris said. "But phase two is about to begin!"

The doctor appeared and a large portal appeared beneath the group of teens. They sank in just as the others were regaining consciousness.

"Well that was a success," Sortiris said clapping his hands together. "How about we go get some ice cream to celebrate?"

"No thank you sir," the doctor said. "Call me when you wish to return."

He turned and entered a portal. "Oh well let's go Burei but we can't be too long," Sortiris said.

"Why is that Master?" Burei asked.

"I have a DVR full of Kamen Rider to watch," Sortiris said causing Burei sweat drop. "Then we continue with my plan to annihilate this worthless mud ball."

**Rob: Ugh.**

**Zeke: Where are we?**

**Melissa: No clue.**

**Alexandria: Oh my head.**

**Original Cards**

Keyblade Wielder – Sora

Light | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1600/1400 | When this card is Normal or Special Summoned you may add a 'Keyblade' card from your Deck to your hand. This card gains 200 attack points for every other face up 'Keyblade Wielder' cards on the field.

Keyblade – Kingdom Key

Image: A large key shaped sword with a silver 'blade' and a yellow guard.

| Equip Spell | This card can only be equipped to a Warrior type monster. The monster equipped with this card gains 300 attack and defense points.

Void Summoning

Image: A Newdoria standing in front of a Dimension Fissure with Invader of Darkness inside.

| Spell | Remove a Dark Attribute monster in your Deck from play to Special Summon a Dark Attribute monster with a lower level than the removed monster from your Deck.

Blackwing Tamer – Hawk Joe the Pitch Black

Dark | Level 7 | Winged-Beast/Synchro/Effect | 2600/2000 | 1 "Blackwing" Tuner Monster + 1 or more "Blackwing" non-Tuner monsters  
Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower "Blackwing" monster from your Graveyard. Your opponent cannot select another "Blackwing" monster your control as Attack Target.

(This card was first used by Crow Hogan's manga counterpart in chapter 14 of the Yu-gi-oh! 5D's manga. Creative credit goes to the writers of that chapter.)

Companion – Donald

Light | Level 4 | Spellcaster/Effect | 1500/1300 | As long as this card remains face up on the field increase the attack points of 'Sora' and 'Goofy' monsters by 200.

Keyblade Wielder – Wisdom Sora

Light | Level 6 | Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect | 2400/1600 | Keyblade Wielder – Sora + Companion – Donald. This card can only be Special Summoned from your Extra Deck by sending the above two cards to the Graveyard. (You do not use Polymerization.) When this card is Special Summoned roll a six sided die, this card gains 'Drive Counters' equal to the number rolled. During your End Phase remove one 'Drive Counter' from this card. If this card has no 'Drive Counters' on it, it is returned to the Extra Deck and the monsters used to Special Summon it are Special Summoned to the field. Once per turn during your opponent's turn you may activate a set Spell card as if it were a Quick-Play Spell card.

Keyblade – Brightcrest

Image: A key sword with a blade shaped like moving water with teeth shaped like a wave.

| Equip Spell | This card can only be equipped to a Warrior type monster. The monster equipped with this card gains 200 attack points for every Spell or Trap card you control.

Keyblade Wielder – Riku

Dark | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1800/1600 | When this card is Normal or Special Summoned you may add a 'Keyblade' card from your Deck to your hand. This card gains 200 attack points for every other face up 'Keyblade Wielder' cards on the field.

Keyblade – Way to Dawn

Image: A key sword with a 'blade' shaped like a bat's wing and an angelic wing for teeth.

| Equip Spell | This card can only be equipped to a Warrior type monster. The monster equipped with this card gains 500 attack and defense points.

Door to Light

Image: A huge white door opening slowly.

| Trap | Special Summon two 'Keyblade Wielder' monsters from your Graveyard.

Keyblade – Oathkeeper

Image: A white key sword with the teeth shaped like the kanji for light.

| Equip Spell | This card can only be equipped to a Warrior type monster. The equipped monster gains 400 attack points and has its attribute changed to Light. If the equipped monster is already a Light attribute monster it gains 600 instead.

Keyblade – Oblivion

Image: A black key sword with the teeth shaped like the kanji for darkness.

| Equip Spell | This card can only be equipped to a Warrior type monster. The equipped monster gains 400 attack points and its attribute is changed to Dark. If the equipped monster is already a Dark attribute monster it gains 600 instead.

Keyblade Wielder – Kairi

Light | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1400/1200 | When this card is Normal or Special Summoned you may add a 'Keyblade' card from your Deck to your hand. This card gains 200 attack points for every other face up 'Keyblade Wielder' cards on the field.

Keyblade – Destiny's Embrace

Image: A key sword with a ring of flowers for teeth.

| Equip Spell | This card can only be equipped to a Warrior type monster. The monster equipped with this card cannot be targeted by other Spell cards and gains 300 attack points.

Blackwing – Nina the Chilling Chain

Dark | Level 2 | Winged-Beast/Effect | 1000/600 | You can send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon a 'Blackwing' monster from your removed from play zone.

Blackwing – Nino the Searing Wave

Dark | Level 7 | Winged-Beast/Synchro/Effect | 2600/1800 | 1 'Blackwing' Tuner monster + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters. Once per turn while the only type of monster control is Winged-Beast this card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent, inflict 300 points of damage to your opponent for every 'Blackwing' monster you control.

Keyblade Wielder – Terra

Earth | Level 6 | Warrior/Effect | 2600/1900 | When this card is Normal or Special Summoned you may add a 'Keyblade' card from your Deck to your hand. If this card attacks a face down monster that card is destroyed automatically without flipping face up and skipping damage calculations.

Earthshaker

Image: A brass coloured key sword with two pick like teeth.

| Equip Spell | The equipped monster gains 700 attack points and piercing effect.

Companion – Goofy

Light | Level 4 | Warrior/Effect | 1200/2000 | As long as this card remains face up on the field increase the attack points of 'Sora' and 'Donald' monsters by 200. This card may attack while in defense mode.

Keyblade Wielder – Valor Sora

Light | Level 6 | Warrior/Fusion/Effect | 2400/1600 | Keyblade Wielder – Sora + Companion – Goofy. This card can only be Special Summoned from your Extra Deck by sending the above two cards to the Graveyard. (You do not use Polymerization.) When this card is Special Summoned roll a six sided die, this card gains 'Drive Counters' equal to the number rolled. During your End Phase remove one 'Drive Counter' from this card. If this card has no 'Drive Counters' on it, it is returned to the Extra Deck and the monsters used to Special Summon it are Special Summoned to the field. This card may attack twice during the Battle Phase.

Keyblade – Bond of Flame

Image: A key sword with a red and silver chakram for teeth.

| Equip Spell | This card can only be equipped to a Warrior type monster. The monster equipped with this card has its attribute changed to fire and gains 400 attack and defense points.

Keyblade Wielder – Roxas

Light | Level 6 | Warrior/Effect | 2300/1450 | If you control a face up 'Sora' card this card gains 300 attack and defense points.

Keyblade Wielder – Final Sora

Light | Level 8 | Warrior/Fusion/Effect | 2800/2000 | Keyblade Wielder – Sora + Keyblade Wielder – Roxas. This card can only be Special Summoned from your Extra Deck by sending the above two cards to the Graveyard. (You do not use Polymerization.) When this card is Special Summoned roll a six sided die, this card gains 'Drive Counters' equal to the number rolled. During your End Phase remove one 'Drive Counter' from this card. If this card has no 'Drive Counters' on it, it is returned to the Extra Deck and the monsters used to Special Summon it are Special Summoned to the field. Once per turn you may activate one of the following effects.

This card may attack twice this Battle Phase.

You may destroy a face up Spell or Trap card and inflict 800 points of damage to your opponent's Life Points.

This card may attack your opponent's Life Points directly. (If you activate this effect the damage inflicted is halved and you must return all cards equipped to this card at the beginning of the start step.)

Official Member

Image: Battlestorm's wearing a bracelet with a wing like design.

| Equip Spell | The equipped monster is treated as a 'Blackwing' monster. You can remove this card from your Graveyard to Special Summon a level four or lower 'Blackwing' monster from your Graveyard.


	47. Ch47: Seven Sins: Envy

**A Black Rose by Any Other Name**

Chapter Forty-Seven: Seven Sins: Envy

(Sorry this chapter took so long folks. College has been rough.)

"Where is everyone?" someone asked. It was a teenage boy with green hair. He wore a black jacket and white pants with a Deck box on his belt.

"Unlike you we aren't always extremely early," a voice said. It was a woman with shoulder length brown hair. She was dressed in a similar outfit to the boy only with a skirt in place of pants.

"You need to stop being so uptight Envy," the girl said caressing the boy's chin.

His face turned bright and he stumbled back causing the girl to chuckle. "Don't make fun of me Lust," Envy said.

"Is there anything to eat Lust?" a voice asked. It was another boy. This one had thick arms and a flabby stomach. His jacket was open showing a black shirt underneath.

"No Gluttony this is our weekly meeting remember," Lust said.

"Oh ya," Gluttony said rubbing the back of his head nervously. "How are you Envy, and do you have something to eat?"

"I'm fine Gluttony," Envy said. "And no if you're hungry why didn't you go to the kitchen?"

"They kicked me out," Gluttony sighed.

"Figures," Envy said.

"Right on time," a voice behind Envy said. The green haired boy spun around and gasped.

"Pride you scared the Hell out of me!" Envy shouted.

"Sorry Envy," Pride said. He was dressed in a suit with the same colours as his comrades. He had neatly trimmed blond hair and a handsome face.

"Sorry I'm late!" a booming voice shouted. "I had to drag Sloth here!"

"Greed and Sloth late as always," Lust said.

The person who'd spoken had brown hair and a sharp face. He wore the same uniform as Envy only his coat lacked sleeves. "Well I wanted to make sure Sloth made it," Greed panted. "He's kind of heavy."

Sloth was fast asleep just behind Greed. He was a muscular boy with stringy black hair that hung over his face. "Does anyone have any idea on how we can wake him?" Lust wondered.

Glutton lightly slapped Sloth on the cheek but it didn't seem to have any effect. "No luck," Gluttony said.

"Just leave him for now," Envy said. "Where's Wrath?"

"You know Wrath, she comes and goes as she pleases," Greed snickered. "She's the master's favourite."

"I hate her so much," Envy whispered.

"You hate everything," Pride said.

"Where is the master?" Gluttony wondered.

"Busy with Burei," Pride said. "Some new people will be arriving here in a few minutes."

"The duelists Burei mentioned?" Lust asked.

"More than likely," Pride said.

"We should make sure they're worth the master's time," Envy muttered.

"That is an excellent idea Envy!" Lust said clapping her hands together.

"Well I do want some payback," Greed said. "Sig's been down since he got beaten."

"Alright does everyone remember your targets?" Pride asked. The remaining sins nodded, including Sloth who had just woken up. "Did you catch all that Sloth?"

He nodded. "Meeting adjourned!" Pride declared.

The Seven Sins or at least six of them walked off to go find their opponents.

Location unknown

Melissa looked around at where she'd arrived. It was a stone hallway with several cells on either side of her. "Well it has that creepy and dank feeling," she said.

"But why am I here?" she wondered out loud. "And why do I feel the need to talk to myself when I'm totally alone. Am I that much of a talker, maybe my friends just don't notice it."

Envy walked through a door that was just around the corner and smirked. "If she wants to leave she'll have to get past me," he said.

"There's no one in these cells," the Psychic duelist said. "It kind makes the whole place seem rather pointless."

She turned the corner and noticed Envy. "Hi."

"Hello," Envy said. "I bet you want to get out of here?"

"I'm guessing I have to go through you?" Melissa asked.

"Well aren't you smart," Envy sneered before activating his Duel Disk. A counter on the door lit up with 8000. "If you can beat me the door will open."

"Alright," Melissa said activating her Disk.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

**(Envy: 8000) - (Melissa: 8000)**

"I'll take the first move!" Envy shouted.

"I can hear you just fine," Melissa said.

"I activate the Magical Citadel of Endymion!" the dungeon dissolved and a stone city surrounded by rings made of ancient writing rose up.

"A Spell Counter Deck great," Melissa said.

"I activate Spell Power Grasp letting me place a Spell Counter on a card that can store them," one of the lanterns in the city lit up casting a red glow on the duelists. (Citadel: 0-2) "Plus since a Spell was activated it gains another."

"I know I studied cards like these for a class," Melissa sighed. "You can also add another Spell Power Grasp but you can't activate it."

"Smartass," Envy muttered. "I'll set a card and a monster face down and then end my turn."

"I activate Graceful Charity," the angel appeared and Melissa handed her two cards. (Citadel: 2-3)

"Next I'll summon Reinforced Human Psychic Borg!" a person covered in black armour with his left eye glowing red and a laser sword in hand walked onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1500/DEF 800)

"I activate his effect and remove the two Psychic monsters I discarded to increase his attack points by 500 for each one!" the sword changed colour first to red then to green. (LV4/ATK 1500-2500/DEF 800)

"Attack his face down with Assimilation Slash!" the cyborg sliced a Spellcaster wearing bulky blue armour in two. "Defender, I was expecting something else."

"Like what?" Envy wondered.

"Apprentice Magician or Magical Plant Mandragola," Mel said.

"Just finish your move," Envy said.

"Alright I'll set two cards face down and end my turn," Melissa said.

"I activate Pitch-Black Power Stone!" a black ball with a triangle split into our pieces floated out of the Trap. "It gains three Spell Counters but it won't be staying long because I activate Double Cyclone destroying it and your face down card on the right!"

A yellow and a red whirlwind flew out of the Spell. The yellow one was about to crash into Melissa's one face down when it flipped up. "I wanted to wait but I don't have a choice, reverse card open Psychic Rejuvenation!" yellow-green energy began to seep off of Borg.

**(Envy: 8000) - (Melissa: 9000)**

"Since you know my cards so well why don't you explain to me why I just blew up my own card," Envy said.

"Why?" Melissa asked.

"Ugh forget it well I did it because my City gains all the counters my Trap had," Envy said. (Citadel: 3-7)

"Then I'll activate my Second Spell Power Grasp!" two more lamps lit up. (Citadel: 7-9)

"You're going to summon Endymion already?" Melissa asked fearfully.

"No," Envy said causing Mel to fall forward.

"So you're just placing Spell Counters on this place like crazy because you can?" the Psychic duelist asked.

"No," Envy said.

"So then…..oh crap," Melissa said.

"I activate the effect of Apprentice of Endymion in my hand and since five or more Spell Counters exist on the field I can Special Summon her in defense mode!" a woman with cherry red hair wearing slightly revealing purple robes floated onto the field. (LV2/ATK 800/DEF 800)

"Is there some kind of rule that says high level Spellcasters must take an apprentice of the opposite gender?" Melissa

"Don't know don't care because I summon Crusader of Endymion!" a Spellcaster wearing blue armour that wasn't actually on his arms or legs crashed onto the field and roared. (LV4/ATK 1900/DEF 1200)

"I tune my level two, Apprentice of Endymion and my level four, Crusader of Endymion!" Envy cried.

"_The destructive wave of magic wipes out anything in comes across! You cannot run or hide from this unstoppable power! Synchro Summon! The envoy of destruction, Tempest Magician!"_

The Apprentice jumped onto the air and transformed into two Synchro gates. They surrounded the armoured mage causing him to become orange wireframe. From the light appeared a Spellcaster dressed in a blue-green jacket shielding herself with a scythe made of bone. (LV6/ATK 2200/DEF 1400)

"Crap," Melissa said.

"You probably know this already but since fear may have wiped your memory let me remind you my monster gains one Spell Counter!" a ball of light appeared next to the Spellcaster. (Tempest: 0-1) "And she has another effect. I can remove all Spell Counters on the field to hit you for 500 points of damage for each one! And I'll do just that, so die!"

The Synchro monster raised her weapon into the air drawing the energy from the lanterns around the city. The swung it forward firing a bolt of energy that slammed into Melissa causing her to skid back. (Citadel: 9-0) (Tempest: 1-0)

**(Envy: 8000) - (Melissa: 4000)**

"_That really hurt,"_ Melissa thought. _"Not again!"_

"Ha, ha, ha, how do you feel?" Envy laughed.

"Honestly I'm not sure how I feel," Melissa said. "I was hoping to avoid Darkness Games for the rest of my life."

"I end my turn with a face down," Envy said.

"Borg attack his Magician!" the cyborg slashed the Spellcaster causing her to gasp and shatter. "Wait no tricks, no traps?"

"No," Envy said.

"Alright I'll set a monster and end my turn," Melissa said sounding confused.

"I activate Hidden Book of Spell allowing me to take two Spell cards from my Graveyard and add them to my Deck!" a glowing book appeared above Envy and he took his two Spell Power Grasps from his Graveyard.

"I activate Spell Power Grasp!" he laughed a lamp started to glow. (Citadel: 0-2)

"You don't have to scream," Melissa said.

"I'll scream if I want to!" Envy snapped. "I set a monster and end my turn."

"I flip my Mind Protector," the yellow armoured robot appeared on the field. (LV3/ATK 0/DEF 2200) "Then I summon a classic Krebons!" the digital harlequin floated onto the field with a laugh. (LV2/ATK 1200/DEF 400)

"I tune my level two, Krebons with my level three, Mind Protector….," Mel began.

"_With armor of steel and a soul of light, grant the forces of good energy to fight on! Synchro Summon Magical Android!"_

Krebons laughed and fused with Mind Protector causing the robot to be surrounded by two green rings. From the light appeared the red haired Android. (LV5/ATK 2400/DEF 1700)

"Android blast his face down monster!" the more human looking Psychic raised her staff and fired a beam of energy. It struck the face down monster two extremely weird looking flowers with faces.

"That was Magical Plant Mandragola and since it was flipped I get to add a Spell Counter to my Field Spell!" Envy laughed. (Citadel: 2-3)

"Have you ever thought of seeing a therapist?" Melissa asked. "Crazed laughter is a terrible sign."

"Shut up and finish your move!" Envy snapped.

"Alright Borg attack him directly," the assimilated human slashed Envy knocking him back with a cry of pain.

**(Envy: 5500) - (Melissa: 4000)**

"Are you alright?" Melissa asked worriedly.

Envy started to cackle as he picked himself up. "No I'm never ok!" he roared. "Why….why…..why…,"

"What's wrong Envy?" Melissa asked not really wanting to find out.

"Why do I have nothing and someone like you has everything?" Envy laughed.

Melissa just blinked and tilted her head to the side. "I think you've gone crazy Envy."

"I'm not crazy I perfectly sane!" Envy cackled.

"That of course being a perfect sign of sanity," Melissa sighed. "Why don't we end this duel right now? It's getting kind of clear you aren't mentally well. You can talk to doctor Aoki he's friend of my mother and a therapist."

"I don't need a damn therapist I need you to die!" Envy shouted. "End your turn or forfeit!"

"I end my turn causing my Android to heal me," Melissa said as her Synchro monster raised her staff causing yellow light to cover Melissa's side.

**(Envy: 5500) - (Melissa: 5200)**

"I summon Alchemist of Black Spell!" a person wearing black armour with yellow lines covering it walked onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1200/DEF 1800)

"Then I'll activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" the grinning jar appeared on the field. (Citadel: 3-4) "Next I activate Spell Power Grasp!" (Citadel: 4-6)

"I'll end my turn with a face down," Envy said.

"Android attack his Alchemist!" Melissa commanded. Her monster raised her staff and fired a blast of energy only for it to be deflected by a wall of swirling energy.

"I hope I don't have to explain Negate Attack to you," Envy snickered.

"I set a monster and end my turn," Mel said.

**(Envy: 5500) - (Melissa: 6400)**

"I activate my last Spell Power Grasp!" Envy shouted. (Citadel: 6-8)

"And I'm not done I move my Alchemist into attack mode then activate his effect and switch him into defense mode to add a Spell Counter to my Field Spell!" the Spellcaster raised his hand letting a ball of light float into one of the lamps. (Citadel: 8-9)

"I release my Alchemist to set a monster," Envy's monster vanished and a face down monster appeared in his place.

"Android attack his face down monster," the Psychic monster fired a beam from her staff. A large wall with a single eye in the centre and three Spell Counter symbols around it appeared.

The beam bounced off hit Borg blowing a hole in his chest. "Meet Spell Seal Wall," Envy said. (LV6/ATK 0/DEF 2400) "Since you flipped him face up I could destroy one of your face up monsters!"

"Alright I'll end my turn," Melissa said.

**(Envy: 5500) - (Melissa: 7000)**

"I summon Slasher, the Magical Knight," a monster wearing similar armour to Breaker only violet with a two handed sword jumped onto the field. (LV4/ATK 1800/DEF 1400) The guard of the Spellcaster's sword lit up like the lamps. (Slasher: 0-1)

"My monster gains one Spell Counter and I can get rid of two of them to destroy a face up monster," Envy said. "I activate his effect and destroy your Android!" (Citadel: 9-7) (Slasher: 1-0)

The magic knight raised his sword causing the blade to glow. He roared and stabbed the Synchro monster causing her to shatter. "Attack her face down!" without moving from the spot Slasher cleaved the face down in two revealing a pale person wearing a helmet with seven light blubs on it.

"You destroyed Doctor Cranium so now I can add a Psychic monster from my Deck to my hand for 800 Life Points," Melissa said.

**(Envy: 5500) - (Melissa: 6200)**

"I end my turn," Envy said.

"I activate Emergency Teleport and Special Summon Psy-Elder," the old Psychic slowly walked onto the field and smirked at Envy. (LV3/ATK 1100/DEF 800) (Citadel: 7-8)

"I release him to summon Space Time Police," a blue portal opened up and Psy-Elder walked in. A man wearing a black body suit with a blue cape carrying a baton jumped out of the portal and grinned. (LV5/ATK 2300/DEF 1500)

"Attack Slasher with Shock Baton!" the officer's weapon started to spark and he jammed it into the magic knight's stomach causing him to howl in pain and shatter.

**(Envy: 5000) - (Melissa: 6200)**

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn," Melissa said.

"I summon Little Mage," a Spellcaster about the size of Envy's fist wearing dark green robes jumped onto the field. (LV1/ATK 400/DEF 300)

"I tune my level one, Little Mage and my level six, Spell Seal Wall!" the Spell Counter duelist shouted.

"_Finishing his studies this ancient mage prepares a spell to destroy his enemies! Fuelled by the magical power of the city he will be unbeatable! Synchro Summon! Come forth Arcanite Magician!"_

The miniature Spellcaster jumped into the air and became one green rings. It flew around the immobile monster causing it to become transparent. From the light appeared the white robed blue skinned Spellcaster. (LV7/ATK 400/DEF 1800) "He gains two Spell Counters and 1000 attack point per Spell Counter!" two balls of light floated around the Synchro. (Arcanite: 0-2) (LV7/ATK 400-2400/DEF 1800)

"I activate his effect and remove a Spell Counter from my Citadel to destroy Space Time Police!" the Spellcaster raised his staff causing one of the lamps to go out. (Citadel: 8-7) He threw it forward firing a beam of energy that struck Melissa's monster.

Or it would have if he hadn't vanished into motes of light. (Citadel: 7-8)

**(Envy: 5000) - (Melissa: 8500)**

"You activated Mystic Wok," Envy growled.

"Yes," Melissa grinned.

"Fine I'll remove another Spell Counter from my Citadel to destroy your other face down!" the mage fired another beam blasting Melissa's Draining Shield. (Citadel: 7-6)

"Arcanite Magician attack her directly!" the Synchro raised his hand and fired a blast of energy that slammed into the Psychic duelist spending her stumbling back.

**(Envy: 5000) - (Melissa: 6100)**

"I'll end my turn with a face down card," Envy said.

"I set a card face down and a monster face down," Melissa said.

"I activate my monster's effect and destroy you face down monster!" Arcanite Magician fired another blast destroying a Psychic holding two flags. (Citadel: 6-5)

"That was Psy-Signaller and since you destroyed it by card effect I get to add a Psychic monster from my Deck to my hand and I'll chain Launch Summon so this turn if a monster is added from my Deck to my hand I can Special Summon it!" a long metal pad appeared next to Melissa. "I summon Brain Blocker!"

A cylindrical robot with an empty glass tank on top jumped onto the pad and was launched onto the field. (LV2/ATK 900/DEF 800) "When it's summoned I select a face up monster you control and as long as he remains face up that monster can't attack or activate its effect," the tank started to glow red and Arcanite Magician clutched his head.

"Fine I'll just end my turn by activating Pot of Avarice and I'll use its effect to return Alchemist of Black Spells, Tempest Magician, Crusader of Endymion, Slasher and Little Mage," the goofy version of famous jar appeared and Envy shuffled the five cards into his Deck. (Citadel: 5-6)

"I have to pay 500 Life Points to keep Brain Blocker and I'll do that," a red aura appeared around the brunette.

**(Envy: 5000) - (Melissa: 5600)**

"Next I activate Psi-Station!" Melissa announced as the four nodes appeared on her side of the field. "Then I'll summon Mental Seeker!" a child wearing blue armour and a visor over his face floated onto the field. (LV3/ATK 800/DEF 600)

"I activate Psi-Station's effect and pay 500 Life Points to increase Mental Seeker's level by one and his attack points by 300," the nodes lit up and zapped the child causing him to grin. (LV3-4)ATK 800-1100/DEF 600) (Citadel: 6-7)

**(Envy: 5000) - (Melissa: 5100)**

"I tune my level four, Mental Seeker with my level two, Brain Blocker!" Melissa shouted.

"_Placed in your endless slumber until the day you'd be needed again! Awaken to assist your allies with your power! Synchro Summon! Wake up, Ancient Esper!"_

A metal coffin with several computer monitors on and around it rose out of the ground. The two Psychic monsters walked over and placed their hands into slots on the side. The monitor turned red and with a hiss steam escaped the chamber. An old woman wearing silver, blue and yellow robes with a circuitry pattern walked out and raised the staff she was holding above her head as the capsule sank into the ground. (LV6/ATK 2600/DEF 1900)

"Attack Arcanite Magician with Psionic Pulse!" the monster held up her staff and waves of energy flew at the Spellcaster causing him to clutch his head again and shatter.

**(Envy: 4800) - (Melissa: 5100)**

"I can activate one of her effects and either heal myself by 600 for every Psychic I control or inflict the same amount of damage to you," Melissa said. "I choose the second option!"

Melissa's monster raised her hand as her eyes glowed blue. Envy was pushed back about a foot with a grunt.

**(Envy: 4200) - (Melissa: 5100)**

"I end my turn with two face down cards," Melissa said.

Envy drew and grinned. "Ha, ha, ha, ha you're finished!" he cackled.

"What do you….oh no," Melissa said.

"I remove six Spell Counters to Special Summon Endymion, the Master Magician!" wind swept through the city as most of the lanterns went out. (Citadel: 7-1) A beam of light from the highest tower shot up and crashed into the field in front of Envy. A man wearing purple robes with gold designs covering them with a mask covering most of his face and a large ring on his back walked onto the field. (LV7/ATK 2700/DEF 1700)

"Oh crap," Melissa said.

"Since I used his effect to Special Summon him I get to add Spell card from my Graveyard to my hand like Spell Power Grasp," a card appeared above Endymion's hand and he gave it to Envy. "I discard it to activate his effect and to destroy your Ancient Esper!"

The mage threw his staff forward firing a beam of energy that struck the Synchro monster blowing a hole in her chest. "Attack her directly!" Endymion scowled and thrust one hand forward causing the air around Melissa to ripple and fling her back.

**(Envy: 4200) - (Melissa: 2400)**

"Ha, can you even keep going?" Envy asked mockingly.

Melissa stood up and dusted herself off. "Actually I can," she said. "I've been hit by worse."

"Don't get cocky!" Envy snarled. "I'm going to make you and everyone else except Master Sortiris suffer!"

"Unless you can do more just end your move," Melissa said.

"Fine I end my turn," Envy said.

Just as Melissa went to draw Envy's face down card flipped up. "I activate Spell Request allowing me to select a Spell card from my Deck and add it to my hand, I just have to pay 1000 Life Points to play it and I'll choose Gather your Mind!"

"But you won't be playing it," Melissa said.

"Correct so next turn you die!" Envy laughed.

"Then I have to win on this turn," Melissa said looking at one of her face down cards. "I activate Pot of Shadow allowing me to remove a Dark monster from my Graveyard to draw three cards so I remove Krebons!"

A black demonic version of the Pot of Greed appeared on the field. "I activate Encore allowing me remove Emergency Teleport to copy it and I'll summon Psy-Striker," a Psychic monster wearing advanced technology jumped onto the field and looked back at Melissa with worry. (LV3/ATK 1300/DEF 600) (Citadel: 1-2)

"I release him to summon Overdrive Teleporter!" the blue coated Psychic jumped out of a portal onto the field. (LV6/ATK 2100/DEF 1200)

"I activate my monster's effect and pay 2000 Life Points to Special Summon Hushed Psychic Cleric and Psychic Commander," a man wearing white robes with a visor over his eyes jumped onto the field and crouched down defensively followed by the grinning Psychic in a tank. (LV3/ATK 0/DEF 2100) (LV3/ATK 1400/DEF 800)

**(Envy: 4200) - (Melissa: 400)**

"I tune my level three, Psychic Commander with my level six, Overdrive Teleporter!"

"_The ultimate perfection of technology blasts its way through any obstacle, with a sleek form surging with pure power! Synchro Summon and open fire Hyper Psychic Blaster!"_

The grey skinned Psychic flew into the air and transformed into three green rings. The summoner jumped into the air through the rings becoming orange wireframe. From the light appeared Melissa's signature monster. (LV9/ATK 3000/DEF 2500)

"I activate Battle Teleportation allowing my monster to attack you directly so go!" the Synchro fired two beams that slammed into Envy sending him flying back.

**(Envy: 1200) - (Melissa: 400)**

"That might have been too much," Melissa said as Envy picked himself up. "You're not going to give up are you?"

"I will never give up, never!" Envy snarled. "Not until you and your friends are dead!"

"Then you leave me no choice I activate Assault Mode Activate and release Hyper Psychic Blaster!" the pillar of light surrounded the robot causing its armour and weapons to upgrade. (LV11/ATK 3500/DEF 3000)

"End this," the Assault Mode monster unleashed a rain of laser fire blasting the Spellcaster to bits.

**(Envy: 400) - (Melissa: 400)**

"My monster's effect activates healing me and hurting you well it won't get time to heal me," Melissa said.

"Crap," Envy muttered before being blasted.

**(Envy: 0) - (Melissa: 400)**

There was a buzz followed by an audible click from the door.

"Are you alright?" Melissa asked.

Envy managed to get to his feet much to the Psychic duelist's surprise. "What are you made of?" she wondered.

"Damn it how could I lose!" he snarled. "Why, I'm supposed to be the best, why, why, why, why!"

Melissa took a step back. _"The only way out is past him,"_ she thought. _"I could brute force my way past him, but he could have a knife."_

Location unknown

Sortiris walked into the room the six teens had been speaking. A girl wearing a similar outfit to Lust only her jacket seemed to be a size too big for her and her skirt was longer was leaning against a wall. She black hair and light blue eyes. "Wrath where is everyone?" the demon asked looking around. "I'd expect Sloth to be late but Envy is always on time."

"I don't know master," she said. "I was running late and when I arrived none of them were here."

"Well go find them," Sortiris said. "Things are going ahead as planned. Your old home will be completely annihilated soon."

Wrath smirked. "Good I only wish I could've made my old 'friends' suffer myself," she sneered. She turned and walked off.

Sortiris smirked after she left. "The most loyal of the Seven Sins," he said softly. "You'll be rewarded soon."

**Zeke: Well one Sin down, six to go.**

**Rob: Who's next?**

**Vincent: No clue.**

**Josh: The boss doesn't want you to know the title of the next chapter but tune in anyway.**

**Reina: Lazy jerk.**

**Original cards**

Apprentice of Endymion

Dark | Level 2 | Spellcaster/Tuner | 800/800 | If there are five or more Spell Counters on your Field you can Special Summon this card from your hand.

Spell Seal Wall

Light | Level 6 | Spellcaster/Effect | 0/2400 | FLIP: Select one face up monster you opponent controls and destroy it. If this card would be destroyed by card effect you may remove one Spell Counter from anywhere on the field to negate this card's destruction.

Slasher, the Magical Knight

Light | Level 4 | Spellcaster/Effect | 1800/1400 | When this card is Normal Summoned it gains 1 Spell Counter (Max 3). Once per turn you may remove three Spell Counters from this card to destroy one monster you opponent controls.

Little Mage

Light | Level 1 | Spellcaster/Tuner | 400/300 | Once per turn you can increase or decrease the level of a face up Spellcaster type monster you control.

Launch Summon

Image: Sangan standing on a long metal pad looking confused.

| Quick-Play Spell | During this turn if any monsters are added from your Deck to your hand you may Special Summon them.

Brain Blocker

Wind | Level 2 | Psychic/Effect | 900/800 | When this monster is summoned select one face up monster you opponent controls. As long as this card remains face up that monster cannot attack or activate its effect. During your Standby Phase you must pay 500 Life Point or this card is destroyed.

Ancient Esper

Light | Level 6 | Psychic/Synchro/Effect | 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters. When this card destroys a monster you opponent controls and sends it to the Graveyard you can activate one of the following effects. *Gain 600 Life Points for every Psychic type monster you control. *You opponent takes 600 points of damage for every Psychic type monster you control.

Spell Request

Image: A person in a book store picking up an ancient book with odd writing on it.

| Trap | Select one Spell card from your Deck and add it to your hand if you activate the selected Spell card you must pay 1000 Life Points.

Pot of Shadow

Image: A black demonic version of the Pot of Greed.

| Spell | Remove a Dark Attribute monster from your Graveyard and draw three cards.


End file.
